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1986 United States Supreme Court case
Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc. Full case name Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc. Docket no. 85-701 Citations 479 U.S. 238 (more Massachusetts Citizens for Life violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by distributing flyers asking voters to vote "for life" paid for with treasury funds, however that section of FECA itself violated the First Amendment.
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell Jr. · John P. Stevens Sandra Day O'Connor · Antonin Scalia
Majority Brennan (Parts I and II), joined by unanimous Majority Brennan (Parts III–B and III–C), joined by Marshall, Powell, O'Connor, Scalia Plurality Brennan (Part III–A), joined by Marshall, Powell, Scalia Concurrence O'Connor (in part and in judgment) Concur/dissent Rehnquist, joined by White, Blackmun, Stevens U.S. Const. amend. I
FEC v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life US Federal Election Commission .
Massachusetts Citizens for Life [ edit ] Massachusetts Citizens for Life was a nonprofit corporation, aiming to "defend the right to life of all human beings born and unborn," with advocacy activities.
It published a newsletter. In September, 1978, Massachusetts Citizens for Life distributed a "Special Edition" telling people to vote "pro-life" in the primary elections. It listed candidates for every office in every voting district in Massachusetts, and labeled each candidate as supporting or rejecting their views. The publication was distributed to a larger audience than that of the standard newsletter (the general public, not just supporters). It was financed by money taken from Massachusetts Citizens for Life's general treasury funds.
A Federal Election Commission complaint was filed.[who? Claiming the "Special Edition" violated § 316; funds used from a corporate treasury to distribute a campaign flyer (of certain political candidates) toward the general public. The FEC determined probable cause of a violation of the statute. The FEC then led a complaint in Federal District Court .[ 1]
In Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc. , 479 U.S. 238 (1986), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc., a pro-life organization,[ 2] Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) by distributing flyers asking voters to vote "for life" paid for with treasury funds. The court also ruled that the FECA section that required corporate spending on political campaigns be done through political action committees (PACs) was itself a violation of the First Amendment rights.[ 3] [ 4]
^ FEC v. Mass. Cit. for Life, 479 U.S. 238 (1986).
^ McDonald, Matt (August 28, 2022). "Diehl Is Choice For Governor of Massachusetts Pro-Life Group; All The MCFL PAC Endorsements" . NewBostonPost . Retrieved May 27, 2023 . ^ Wermiel, Stephen (December 16, 1986). "High Court Overturns Law Requiring Nonprofit Political Groups to Use PACs" Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition . p. 4. Retrieved May 16, 2017 – via ProQuest. ^ "Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc" . Oyez. Retrieved May 16, 2017 .
Public displays Statutory religious Public funding Religion in Private religious speech Internal church affairs Taxpayer standing Blue laws Other
Unprotected
Incitement sedition Defamation andfalse speech Fighting words andheckler's veto True threats Obscenity
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Strict scrutiny Overbreadth Vagueness Symbolic speech Content-based Content-neutral
Compelled speech Compelled subsidy
Government grants Government Loyalty oaths School speech Public employees Hatch Act andLicensing and Commercial speech
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Organizations Future Conduct Solicitation Membership restriction Primaries and elections
