Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC

1996 United States Supreme Court case

Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 15, 1996 Decided June 26, 1996
Full case name	Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission
Citations	518 U.S. 604 (more) 109 S. Ct. 2533; 105 L. Ed. 2d 342; 1989 U.S. LEXIS 3115; 57 U.S.L.W. 4770
Argument	Oral argument
Case history
Prior	Summary judgment granted in favor of defendants, FEC v. Colorado Republican Fed. Campaign Comm., 839 F. Supp. 1448 (D. Colo. 1993), reversed, 59 F.3d 1015 (10th Cir. 1995), cert. granted, 516 U.S. 1036 (1996).
Subsequent	Remanded, 96 F.3d 471 (10th Cir. 1996).
Holding
Independent expenditures by political parties made without coordination of a candidate are protected by the First Amendment
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
Plurality	Breyer, joined by O'Connor, Souter
Concurrence	Kennedy, joined by Rehnquist, Scalia
Concurrence	Thomas, joined by Rehnquist, Scalia (as to Parts I and III)
Dissent	Stevens, joined by Ginsburg
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I;2 U.S.C. §441a(d)

Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC, 518 U.S. 604 (1996), was a case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Colorado Republican Party challenged the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as to whether the "Party Expenditure Provision" of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) violated the First Amendment right to free speech.^[1]^[2] This provision put a limit on the amount of money a national party could spend on a congressional candidate's campaign. The FEC argued that the Committee violated this provision when purchasing a radio advertisement that attacked the likely candidate of the Colorado Democratic Party. The court held that since the expenditures by the committee were made independently from a specific candidate, they did not violate the campaign contribution limitations established by the FECA, and were protected under the First Amendment.^[1]

Background of the case

Prior to selecting a candidate for the 1986 senatorial election, the Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee purchased radio advertisements attacking Timothy Wirth, the Democratic Party's likely candidate.^[1] In response to this, the FEC filed suit against the committee, alleging that the radio advertisements they had purchased violated "Party Expenditure Provision" of the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA), which set a limit on how much money a political party could spend on a campaign for a congressional candidate.^[1]

The Committee defended themselves by arguing that since the advertisement had not endorsed or advocated for a specific candidate, it was not in violation of the provision. The committee also filed a counterclaim challenging the Party Expenditure Provision as a whole, with the claim that the provision violated the First Amendment as it applied to advertisements.^[1]

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado held that the party's expenditure for the radio advertisement did not violate the Party Expenditure Provision because it did not advocate for a specific candidate, as restricted under the provision.^[3] The decision was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and the ruling of the district court was reversed.^[4] The Tenth Circuit held that while the radio ad has not advocated for a specific candidate, the expenditure was still coordinated with the campaign, and thus in violation of FECA. In the court's view, the limits imposed on party expenditures served as justifiable infringements of the First Amendment rights of party committees in an effort to preserve the integrity of elections. The case was then taken to the Supreme Court.^[5]

In a prior case with similar facts, Buckley v. Valeo,^[6] the Supreme Court found that FECA's limitations on contributions to an election campaign were generally constitutional, but limitations on election expenditures were not. In this case, the Court held that limitations on election expenditures violated the First Amendment by infringing on the right to political expression.^[7] Buckley v. Valeo was used as precedent for the Supreme Court's decision when determining the constitutionality of 2 U.S.C. § 441a(d)(3) as applied to a Party's independent campaign expenditure in the case of Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC.^[1]

The Supreme Court's decision

In a 7-2 plurality decision announced by Justice Stephen G. Breyer, the United States Supreme Court held that independent expenditures by political parties made without coordination of a candidate are protected by the First Amendment.^[1]

The court also ruled that the advertisement paid for by the Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee was an independent expenditure, as it did not advocate for any candidate in particular. As an independent expenditure, the advertisement was found to be not in violation of the Party Expenditure Provision of the Federal Election Campaign Act. Because of this, the Court did not address the constitutionality of the provision as a whole.^[5]

Both Justices Kennedy and Thomas wrote opinions that were in concurrence with Justice Breyer, and Justice Stevens dissented.

Breyer's plurality opinion

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote an opinion that was joined by Justices O'Connor and Souter.^[1] Based on precedent set by Buckley v. Valeo, Breyer believed that some restrictions on expenditures by political parties were constitutional. Even so, he found that the Party Expenditure Provision of the FECA did not apply to an independent expenditure made by a political party without coordination with a candidate.^[5] This meant that the independent advertisement paid for by the Colorado Republican Party was not in violation of the Party Expenditure Provision, and was protected by the First Amendment.^[1]

We therefore believe that this Court's prior case law controls the outcome here. We do not see how a Constitution that grants to individuals, candidates, and ordinary political committees the right to make unlimited independent expenditures could deny the same right to political parties.^[8]

Kennedy's concurrence

Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote an opinion in concurrence with Breyer, and was joined by Justices Rehnquist and Scalia.^[1] Kennedy argued that the FEC could not set a limit on coordinated expenditures by political parties, because such limitations violate parties' right to engage in political speech as protected by the First Amendment. Based on this belief he argued that the Party Expenditure Provision of FECA should be struck down in its entirety as unconstitutional.^[5]

Thomas' concurrence

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote a concurring opinion, that was also joined by Justices Rehnquist and Scalia. Like Kennedy, Thomas also found that the limitations imposed by FECA were unconstitutional. He explained that there are no constitutional differences between expenditures and contributions, and that due to the First Amendment right to engage in political speech, these expenditures could not be limited. Thomas also wrote that by not addressing the validity of the provision, the Court would "inhibit the exercise of legitimate First Amendment activity nationwide."^[1]

Steven's dissent

Justice John P. Stevens wrote an opinion that dissented with the rest of the justices, and was joined by Justice Ginsburg. Stevens concluded that political party expenditures should always be viewed as coordinated with that party's candidates, as the party exists with the purpose to help their candidates get elected. Stevens' dissent gave three interest of the Government that he felt provided "constitutional predicate" for the limitation a party's expenditures. First, he felt that such limits serve the interest in avoiding both the appearance and the reality of a corrupt political process. Second, these restrictions supplement other spending limitations embodied in the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which are likewise designed to prevent corruption. And, third, the Government has an important interest in leveling the electoral playing field by constraining the cost of federal campaigns.^[1]

Remand

After the decision by the Supreme Court, the committee's broader claim remained that limitations on congressional campaign expenditures by parties are facially unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable, even when the expenditures are made in coordination with a candidate. The case was remanded to the lower courts and the District Court ruled in favor the committee.^[9] The decision was appealed, and the Court of Appeals affirmed the decision.^[10]

2001 Supreme Court decision

2001 United States Supreme Court case

FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued February 28, 2001 Decided June 25, 2001
Full case name	Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee
Docket no.	00-191
Citations	533 U.S. 431 (more) 121 S.Ct. 2351; 150 L. Ed. 2d 461
Case history
Prior	41 F. Supp. 2d 1197 (D. Colo. 1999); affirmed, 213 F.3d 1221 (10th Cir. 2000); cert. granted, 531 U.S. 923 (2000).
Court membership
Chief Justice William Rehnquist Associate Justices John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy David Souter · Clarence Thomas Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Case opinions
Majority	Souter, joined by Stevens, O'Connor, Ginsberg, Breyer
Dissent	Thomas, joined by Scalia, Kennedy (in full); Rehnquist (as to Part II)

The Supreme Court revisited the case in 2001,^[11] with the question "Are congressional campaign expenditure limitations on parties facially unconstitutional and thus unenforceable even as to spending coordinated with a candidate?"^[12] In a 5–4 decision given by Justice Souter, the Court found that "a party's coordinated expenditures, unlike expenditures truly independent, may be restricted to minimize circumvention of contribution limits."^[13] Justice Souter also wrote "there is little evidence to suggest that coordinated party spending limits adopted by Congress have frustrated the ability of political parties to exercise their First Amendment rights to support their candidates."^[14]

Subsequent Developments

This case was cited as precedent in the case of Republican Party of Minnesota v. Pauly,^[15] where the court ruled that Minn. Stat. § 10A.01, subd. 10b, is unconstitutional to the extent it refuses to allow for "eleventh hour" independent expenditures by political parties. The Pauly Court opined that "The Supreme Court in Buckley and Colorado Republican has imposed upon the Government a significant burden to justify, with solid evidence, the need for particular restrictions on political speech."^[16]

It is further cited in 2000 in the case of Wash. State Republican Party v. Public Disclosure Commission,^[17] where the Court ruled that advertisements involving issue-oriented political speech is not subject to governmental regulation. Here, the Supreme Court of Washington cited Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC for the proposition that the government may not limit contributions where there is no risk of corruption. It further cited Colorado Republican for the proposition that "The independent expression of a political party's views is 'core' First Amendment activity no less than is the independent expression of individuals, candidates, or other political committees."^[17]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC, 518 U.S. 604 (1996).
^ "Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission". Oyez.
^ FEC v. Colorado Republican Fed. Campaign Comm., 839 F. Supp. 1448 (D. Colo. 1993).
^ FEC v. Colorado Republican Fed. Campaign Comm., 59 F.3d 1015 (10th Cir. 1995).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Mary Sherris, Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission: Maintaining What Remains of the Federal Election Campaign Act Through Constitutional Compromise, 30 Akron L. Rev. 561 (1997).
^ Buckley v. Valeo, 424 U.S. 1 (1976).
^ "Buckley v. Valeo". Oyez.
^ Colorado Republican Fed. Campaign Comm. v. FEC, 518 U.S. at 618.
^ FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Comm., 41 F. Supp. 2d 1197 (D. Colo. 1999).
^ FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Comm., 213 F.3d 1221 (10th Cir. 2000).
^ FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Comm., 533 U.S. 431 (2001).
^ "Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee". Oyez.
^ 533 U.S. at 465.
^ 533 U.S. at 450.
^ Republican Party of Minnesota v. Pauly, 63 F. Supp. 2d 1008, 1016 (D. Minn. 1999).
^ Pauly, 63 F. Supp. 2d at 1019.
^ ^a ^b Wash. State Republican Party v. Public Disclosure Comm'n, 141 Wash. 2d 245, 4 P.3d 808, 826 (2000).

External links

Works related to Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC at Wikisource
Text of Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC, 518 U.S. 604 (1996) is available from: Cornell Findlaw Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)

United States First Amendment case law

Establishment Clause

Public displays and ceremonies	Marsh v. Chambers (1983) Lynch v. Donnelly (1984) Board of Trustees of Scarsdale v. McCreary (1985) County of Allegheny v. American Civil Liberties Union (1989) Van Orden v. Perry (2005) McCreary County v. American Civil Liberties Union (2005) Pleasant Grove City v. Summum (2009) Salazar v. Buono (2010) Town of Greece v. Galloway (2014) American Legion v. American Humanist Association (2019)
Statutory religious exemptions	Walz v. Tax Comm'n of the City of New York (1970) California v. Grace Brethren Church (1982) Bob Jones University v. United States (1983) Estate of Thornton v. Caldor, Inc. (1985) Corp. of Presiding Bishop v. Amos (1987) Texas Monthly, Inc. v. Bullock (1989) City of Boerne v. Flores (1997) Cutter v. Wilkinson (2005)
Public funding	Cochran v. Board of Education (1930) Everson v. Board of Education (1947) Flast v. Cohen (1968) Board of Ed. of Central School Dist. No. 1 v. Allen (1968) Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) Tilton v. Richardson (1971) Lemon v. Kurtzman II (1973) Levitt v. Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty (1973) Hunt v. McNair (1973) Committee for Public Education v. Nyquist (1973) Sloan v. Lemon (1973) Wheeler v. Barrera (1974) Public Funds for Public Schools v. Marburger (1974) Meek v. Pittenger (1975) Roemer v. Board of Public Works of Maryland (1976) Wolman v. Walter (1977) New York v. Cathedral Academy (1977) Committee for Public Education and Religious Liberty v. Regan (1980) Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church & State (1982) Mueller v. Allen (1983) School Dist. of Grand Rapids v. Ball (1985) Aguilar v. Felton (1985) Witters v. Washington Department of Services for the Blind (1986) Zobrest v. Catalina Foothills School District (1993) Board of Ed. of Kiryas Joel Village School Dist. v. Grumet (1994) Agostini v. Felton (1997) Mitchell v. Helms (2000) Zelman v. Simmons-Harris (2002) Arizona Christian Sch. Tuition Org. v. Winn (2011) Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer (2017) Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020) Carson v. Makin (2022)
Religion in public schools	McCollum v. Board of Education (1948) Zorach v. Clauson (1952) Engel v. Vitale (1962) Abington School District v. Schempp (1963) Epperson v. Arkansas (1968) Stone v. Graham (1980) Wallace v. Jaffree (1985) Edwards v. Aguillard (1987) Westside Community Board of Ed. v. Mergens (1990) Lee v. Weisman (1992) Santa Fe Ind. School Dist. v. Doe (2000) Elk Grove Unif. School Dist. v. Newdow (2004) Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. (2022)
Private religious speech	Lamb's Chapel v. Center Moriches Union Free School Dist. (1993) Capitol Square Review & Advisory Board v. Pinette (1995) Rosenberger v. Univ. of Virginia (1995) Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001) Shurtleff v. City of Boston (2022) Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. (2022)
Internal church affairs	Watson v. Jones (1872) Gonzalez v. Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila (1929) United States v. Ballard (1944) Kedroff v. St. Nicholas Cathedral (1952) Kreshik v. St. Nicholas Cathedral (1960) Presbyterian Church v. Hull Church (1969) Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese v. Milivojevich (1976) Jones v. Wolf (1979) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan v. Acevedo Feliciano (2020)
Taxpayer standing	Flast v. Cohen (1968) Valley Forge Christian College v. Americans United for Separation of Church & State (1982) Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation (2007) Arizona Christian Sch. Tuition Org. v. Winn (2011)
Blue laws	McGowan v. Maryland (1961) Two Guys from Harrison-Allentown, Inc. v. McGinley (1961) Braunfeld v. Brown (1961) Estate of Thornton v. Caldor, Inc. (1985)
Other	Torcaso v. Watkins (1961) McDaniel v. Paty (1978) Harris v. McRae (1980) Larkin v. Grendel's Den, Inc. (1982) Larson v. Valente (1982) Bowen v. Kendrick (1988) Swaggart Ministries v. Board of Equalization (1989) Board of Ed. of Kiryas Joel Village School Dist. v. Grumet (1994) Trump v. Hawaii (2018)

Free Exercise Clause

Reynolds v. United States (1879)
Davis v. Beason (1890)
Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940)
Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
Jamison v. Texas (1943)
Murdock v. Pennsylvania (1943)
United States v. Ballard (1944)
Tucker v. Texas (1946)
Niemotko v. Maryland (1951)
Kunz v. New York (1951)
Fowler v. Rhode Island (1953)
Braunfeld v. Brown (1961)
Gallagher v. Crown Kosher Super Market of Massachusetts, Inc. (1961)
Torcaso v. Watkins (1961)
Sherbert v. Verner (1963)
Cruz v. Beto (1972)
Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972)
McDaniel v. Paty (1978)
Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. (1981)
Thomas v. Review Board (1981)
United States v. Lee (1982)
Bob Jones University v. United States (1983)
Bowen v. Roy (1986)
Goldman v. Weinberger (1986)
O'Lone v. Estate of Shabazz (1987)
Frazee v. Illinois Department of Employment Security (1989)
Swaggart Ministries v. Board of Equalization (1989)
Employment Division v. Smith (1990)
Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah (1993)
Watchtower Society v. Village of Stratton (2002)
Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (2018)
Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo (2020)
Tandon v. Newsom (2021)
Fulton v. City of Philadelphia (2021)
Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. (2022)

Exclusion of religion
from public benefits

Locke v. Davey (2004)
Trinity Lutheran Church v. Comer (2017)
Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue (2020)
Carson v. Makin (2022)

Ministerial exception

NLRB v. Catholic Bishop of Chicago (1979)
Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC (2012)
Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru (2020)

Statutory religious exemptions

RFRA	Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal (2006) Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. (2014) Zubik v. Burwell (2016) Little Sisters of the Poor Saints Peter and Paul Home v. Pennsylvania (2020) Tanzin v. Tanvir (2020)
RLUIPA	Sossamon v. Texas (2011) Holt v. Hobbs (2015) Ramirez v. Collier (2022)

Freedom of speech (portal)

Unprotected
speech

Incitement and sedition	Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) Masses Publishing Co. v. Patten (S.D.N.Y. 1917) Schenck v. United States (1919) Debs v. United States (1919) Abrams v. United States (1919) Gitlow v. New York (1925) Whitney v. California (1927) Fiske v. Kansas (1927) Dennis v. United States (1951) Communist Party v. Subversive Activities Control Bd. (1955; 1961) Yates v. United States (1957, clear and present danger) Bond v. Floyd (1966) Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969, imminent lawless action) Hess v. Indiana (1973)
Libel and false speech	New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988) United States v. Alvarez (2012) Susan B. Anthony List v. Driehaus (2014)
Fighting words and the heckler's veto	Cantwell v. Connecticut (1940) Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942) Terminiello v. City of Chicago (1949) Feiner v. New York (1951) Gregory v. City of Chicago (1969) Cohen v. California (1971) Nat'l Socialist Party v. Village of Skokie (1977) R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992) Snyder v. Phelps (2011)
True threats	Watts v. United States (1969) Virginia v. Black (2003) Elonis v. United States (2015) Counterman v. Colorado (2023)
Obscenity	Rosen v. United States (1896) United States v. One Book Called Ulysses (S.D.N.Y. 1933) Roth v. United States (1957) One, Inc. v. Olesen (1958) Smith v. California (1959) Marcus v. Search Warrant (1961) MANual Enterprises, Inc. v. Day (1962) Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964) Quantity of Books v. Kansas (1964) Ginzburg v. United States (1966) Memoirs v. Massachusetts (1966) Redrup v. New York (1967) Ginsberg v. New York (1968) Stanley v. Georgia (1969) United States v. Thirty-seven Photographs (1971) Kois v. Wisconsin (1972) Miller v. California (1973) Paris Adult Theatre I v. Slaton (1973) United States v. 12 200-ft. Reels of Film (1973) Jenkins v. Georgia (1974) Southeastern Promotions, Ltd. v. Conrad (1975) Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville (1975) Young v. American Mini Theatres, Inc. (1976) Vance v. Universal Amusement Co., Inc. (1980) American Booksellers Ass'n, Inc. v. Hudnut (7th Cir. 1985) People v. Freeman (Cal. 1988) United States v. X-Citement Video, Inc. (1994) Reno v. ACLU (1997) United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. (2000) City of Los Angeles v. Alameda Books, Inc. (2002) Ashcroft v. ACLU I (2002) United States v. American Library Ass'n (2003) Ashcroft v. ACLU II (2004) Nitke v. Gonzales (S.D.N.Y. 2005) United States v. Williams (2008) American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression v. Strickland (6th Cir. 2009) United States v. Kilbride (9th Cir. 2009) United States v. Stevens (2010) Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Ass'n (2011) FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. (2012)
Speech integral to criminal conduct	New York v. Ferber (1982) Osborne v. Ohio (1990) Ashcroft v. Free Speech Coalition (2002) United States v. Hansen (2023)

Strict scrutiny

Holder v. Humanitarian Law Project (2010)
Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar (2015)

Vagueness

Smith v. Goguen (1974)
Board of Airport Commissioners v. Jews for Jesus (1987)
Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky (2018)

Symbolic speech
versus conduct

Stromberg v. California (1931)
United States v. O'Brien (1968)
Cohen v. California (1971)
Spence v. Washington (1974)
Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence (1984)
Dallas v. Stanglin (1989)
Texas v. Johnson (1989)
United States v. Eichman (1990)
Barnes v. Glen Theatre (1991)
City of Erie v. Pap's A. M. (2000)
Virginia v. Black (2003)

Content-based
restrictions

Lamont v. Postmaster General (1965)
Metromedia, Inc. v. San Diego (1981)
Boos v. Barry (1988)
Butterworth v. Smith (1990)
Simon & Schuster, Inc. v. Crime Victims Board (1991)
R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul (1992)
Reed v. Town of Gilbert (2015)
Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants (2020)
City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin, LLC (2022)

Content-neutral
restrictions

Schneider v. New Jersey (1939)
Renton v. Playtime Theatres, Inc. (1986)
City of Ladue v. Gilleo (1994)
Packingham v. North Carolina (2017)

In the public forum	Davis v. Massachusetts (1897) Hague v. CIO (1939) Thornhill v. Alabama (1940) Martin v. City of Struthers (1943) Niemotko v. Maryland (1951) Edwards v. South Carolina (1963) Cox v. Louisiana (1965) Brown v. Louisiana (1966) Adderley v. Florida (1966) Carroll v. Town of Princess Anne (1968) Coates v. City of Cincinnati (1971) Org. for a Better Austin v. Keefe (1971) USPS v. Council of Greenburgh Civic Assns. (1981) United States v. Grace (1983) Clark v. Community for Creative Non-Violence (1984) Frisby v. Schultz (1988) Ward v. Rock Against Racism (1989) Burson v. Freeman (1992) Madsen v. Women's Health Center, Inc. (1994) Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York (1997) Hill v. Colorado (2000) McCullen v. Coakley (2014)
Designated public forum	Widmar v. Vincent (1981) Rosenberger v. Univ. of Virginia (1995) Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski (2021)
Nonpublic forum	Lehman v. Shaker Heights (1974) Brown v. Glines (1980) Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators' Association (1983) Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense Fund (1985) International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. v. Lee (1992) Arkansas Educational Television Commission v. Forbes (1997) Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky (2018)

Compelled speech

Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
West Virginia State Board of Ed. v. Barnette (1943)
Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo (1974)
Wooley v. Maynard (1977)
Pruneyard Shopping Center v. Robins (1980)
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Comm'n of California (1986)
Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston (1995)
Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic & Institutional Rights, Inc. (2006)
National Institute of Family and Life Advocates v. Becerra (2018)
303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (2023)
Moody v. NetChoice, LLC (2024)

Compelled subsidy
of others' speech

Ry. Emps. Department v. Hanson (1956)
Machinists v. Street (1961)
Abood v. Detroit Board of Education (1977)
Ellis v. Railway Clerks (1984)
Chicago Local Teachers Union v. Hudson (1986)
Communications Workers of America v. Beck (1988)
Keller v. State Bar of California (1990)
Lehnert v. Ferris Faculty Ass'n (1991)
Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliot, Inc. (1997)
Board of Regents of the Univ. of Wisconsin System v. Southworth (2000)
United States v. United Foods Inc. (2001)
Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Ass'n (2005)
Davenport v. Washington Education Ass'n (2007)
Locke v. Karass (2008)
Ysursa v. Pocatello Education Association (2009)
Knox v. SEIU, Local 1000 (2012)
Harris v. Quinn (2014)
Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association (2016)
Janus v. AFSCME (2018)

Compelled representation	Steele v. Louisville & N.R. Co (1944) Minnesota Board for Community Colleges v. Knight (1984)

Government grants
and subsidies

Regan v. Taxation with Representation of Washington (1983)
Rust v. Sullivan (1991)
National Endowment for the Arts v. Finley (1998)
Legal Services Corp. v. Velazquez (2001)
USAID v. Alliance for Open Society I (2013)
USAID v. Alliance for Open Society II (2020)

Government
as speaker

Pleasant Grove City v. Summum (2009)
Walker v. Texas Div., Sons of Confederate Veterans (2015)
Matal v. Tam (2017)
Iancu v. Brunetti (2019)
Houston Community College System v. Wilson (2022)
Shurtleff v. City of Boston (2022)
Vidal v. Elster (2024)

Loyalty oaths

American Communications Ass'n v. Douds (1950)
Garner v. Board of Public Works (1951)
Speiser v. Randall (1958)
Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967)
Communist Party of Indiana v. Whitcomb (1974)

School speech

Minersville School District v. Gobitis (1940)
West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette (1943)
Tinker v. Des Moines Ind. Community School Dist. (1969, substantial disruption)
Healy v. James (1972)
Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982)
Bethel School District v. Fraser (1986)
Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier (1988)
Westside Community Board of Ed. v. Mergens (1990)
Rosenberger v. Univ. of Virginia (1995)
Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Assn. (2001)
Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Assn. v. Brentwood Academy (2007)
Morse v. Frederick (2007)
Uzuegbunam v. Preczewski (2021)
Mahanoy Area School District v. B.L. (2021)

Public employees

Pickering v. Board of Education (1968)
Perry v. Sindermann (1972)
Arnett v. Kennedy (1974)
Elrod v. Burns (1976)
Mt. Healthy City School Dist. Board of Ed. v. Doyle (1977)
Givhan v. Western Line Consol. School Dist. (1979)
Smith v. Arkansas State Hwy. Employees Local (1979)
Connick v. Myers (1983)
Rankin v. McPherson (1987)
Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois (1990)
Waters v. Churchill (1994)
Board of Comm'rs, Wabaunsee Cty. v. Umbehr (1996)
Brentwood Academy v. Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Assn. (2001)
Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006)
Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Assn. v. Brentwood Academy (2007)
Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri (2011)
Lane v. Franks (2014)
Heffernan v. City of Paterson (2016)
Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist. (2022)

Hatch Act and
similar laws

Ex parte Curtis (1882)
United Public Workers v. Mitchell (1947)
U.S. Civil Service Comm'n v. National Ass'n of Letter Carriers (1973)
Broadrick v. Oklahoma (1973)

Licensing and
restriction of speech

Mutual Film Corp. v. Industrial Comm'n of Ohio (1915)
Cox v. New Hampshire (1941)
Murdock v. Pennsylvania (1943)
Kunz v. New York (1951)
Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson (1952)
Kingsley Books, Inc. v. Brown (1957)
NAACP v. Button (1963)
Railroad Trainmen v. Virginia Bar (1964)
Freedman v. Maryland (1965)
Mine Workers v. Illinois Bar Assn. (1967)
Heffron v. International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Inc. (1981)
Hoffman Estates v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. (1982)
Riley v. Nat'l Fed'n of the Blind (1988)
Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement (1992)

Commercial speech

Valentine v. Chrestensen (1942)
Rowan v. U.S. Post Office Dept. (1970)
Pittsburgh Press Co. v. Pittsburgh Comm'n on Human Relations (1973)
Lehman v. Shaker Heights (1974)
Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar (1975)
Bigelow v. Virginia (1975)
Virginia State Pharmacy Bd. v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (1976)
Linmark Assoc., Inc. v. Township of Willingboro (1977)
Carey v. Population Services International (1977)
Bates v. State Bar of Arizona (1977)
In re Primus (1978)
Ohralik v. Ohio State Bar Association (1978)
Friedman v. Rogers (1979)
Consol. Edison Co. v. Public Serv. Comm'n (1980)
Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. v. Public Service Commission (1980)
Metromedia, Inc. v. San Diego (1981)
In re R.M.J. (1982)
Hoffman Estates v. The Flipside, Hoffman Estates, Inc. (1982)
Zauderer v. Off. of Disciplinary Counsel of Supreme Court of Ohio (1985)
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. v. Public Utilities Comm'n of California (1986)
Posadas de Puerto Rico Assoc. v. Tourism Co. of Puerto Rico (1986)
San Francisco Arts & Athletics, Inc. v. U.S. Olympic Committee (1987)
Shapero v. Kentucky Bar Association (1988)
Riley v. Nat'l Fed'n of the Blind (1988)
State University of New York v. Fox (1989)
Peel v. Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of Illinois (1990)
City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network (1993)
Edenfield v. Fane (1993)
United States v. Edge Broadcasting Co. (1993)
Ibanez v. Florida Dept. of Business and Professional Regulation, Bd. of Accountancy (1994)
Lebron v. National Railroad Passenger Corp. (1995)
Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co. (1995)
Florida Bar v. Went For It, Inc. (1995)
44 Liquormart, Inc. v. Rhode Island (1996)
Glickman v. Wileman Brothers & Elliot, Inc. (1997)
Greater New Orleans Broadcasting Assn., Inc. v. United States (1999)
Los Angeles Police Department v. United Reporting Publishing Co. (1999)
United States v. United Foods Inc. (2001)
Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly (2001)
Thompson v. Western States Medical Center (2002)
Nike, Inc. v. Kasky (2003)
Johanns v. Livestock Marketing Ass'n (2005)
Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Assn. v. Brentwood Academy (2007)
Milavetz, Gallop & Milavetz, P.A. v. United States (2010)
Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich LPA (2010)
Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc. (2011)
Expressions Hair Design v. Schneiderman (2017)
Matal v. Tam (2017)
Iancu v. Brunetti (2019)
Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants (2020)
Vidal v. Elster (2024)

Campaign finance
and political speech

Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (1978)
California Medical Association v. FEC (1981)
Citizens Against Rent Control v. City of Berkeley (1981)
FEC v. National Right to Work Committee (1982)
FEC v. National Conservative PAC (1985)
FEC v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life (1986)
Eu v. S.F. Cty. Democratic Cent. Comm. (1989)
Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990)
Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. FEC (1996)
Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC (2000)
FEC v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee (2001)
Republican Party of Minnesota v. White (2002)
FEC v. Beaumont (2003)
McConnell v. FEC (2003)
Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. FEC (2006)
Randall v. Sorrell (2006)
FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. (2007)
Davis v. FEC (2008)
Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
Nevada Commission on Ethics v. Carrigan (2011)
Arizona Free Enterprise Club's Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett (2011)
American Tradition Partnership, Inc. v. Bullock (2012)
McCutcheon v. FEC (2014)
Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar (2015)
Thompson v. Hebdon (2019)
FEC v. Ted Cruz for Senate (2022)

Anonymous speech

NAACP v. Alabama (1958)
Bates v. City of Little Rock (1960)
Buckley v. Valeo (1976)
Brown v. Socialist Workers '74 Campaign Committee (1982)
McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm'n (1995)
Doe v. Reed (2010)
Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta (2021)

State action

Marsh v. Alabama (1946)
Lloyd Corp. v. Tanner (1972)
Manhattan Community Access Corp. v. Halleck (2019)
Lindke v. Freed (2024)
Murthy v. Missouri (2024)

Official retaliation

Hartman v. Moore (2006)
Reichle v. Howards (2012)
Wood v. Moss (2014)
Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach (2018)
Nieves v. Bartlett (2019)
Egbert v. Boule (2022)
Gonzalez v. Trevino (2024)
National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo (2024)

Boycotts

NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware Co. (1982)
FTC v. Superior Ct. TLA (1990)

Prisons

Procunier v. Martinez (1974)
Jones v. North Carolina Prisoners' Union (1977)
Turner v. Safley (1987)
Shaw v. Murphy (2001)
Overton v. Bazzetta (2003)
Beard v. Banks (2006)

Freedom of the press

Prior restraints and censorship	Patterson v. Colorado (1907) Near v. Minnesota (1931) Lovell v. City of Griffin (1938) Tucker v. Texas (1946) Hannegan v. Esquire, Inc. (1946) Lamont v. Postmaster General (1965) New York Times Co. v. United States (1971) Pell v. Procunier (1974) Nebraska Press Ass'n v. Stuart (1976) Landmark Communications, Inc. v. Virginia (1978) Lowe v. SEC (1985) Tory v. Cochran (2005)
Privacy	Time, Inc. v. Hill (1967) Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn (1975) Florida Star v. B. J. F. (1989)
Taxation and privileges	Grosjean v. American Press Co. (1936) Branzburg v. Hayes (1972) Houchins v. KQED, Inc. (1978) Minneapolis Star Tribune Co. v. Commissioner (1983) Arkansas Writers' Project v. Ragland (1987) Cohen v. Cowles Media Co. (1991)
Defamation	Beauharnais v. Illinois (1952) New York Times Co. v. Sullivan (1964) Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts (1967) Greenbelt Cooperative Publishing Ass'n, Inc. v. Bresler (1970) Gertz v. Robert Welch, Inc. (1974) Time, Inc. v. Firestone (1976) Bose Corp. v. Consumers Union of United States, Inc. (1984) Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. (1985) McDonald v. Smith (1985) Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988) Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. v. Connaughton (1989) Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co. (1990) Obsidian Finance Group, LLC v. Cox (9th Cir. 2014)
Broadcast media	Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC (1969) FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (1978) FCC v. WNCN Listeners Guild (1981) Denver Area Ed. Telecommunications Consortium, Inc. v. FCC (1996) Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. FCC (1997) Bartnicki v. Vopper (2001)
Copyrighted materials	Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co. (1977) Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises (1985) Eldred v. Ashcroft (2003)

Freedom of assembly

Incorporation	United States v. Cruikshank (1876) Presser v. Illinois (1886)
Protection from prosecution and state restrictions	De Jonge v. Oregon (1937) Thomas v. Collins (1945) Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta (2021)

Freedom of association

Organizations	Joint Anti-Fascist Refugee Committee v. McGrath (1951) Watkins v. United States (1957) NAACP v. Alabama (1958) Bates v. City of Little Rock (1960) NAACP v. Button (1963) Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta (2021)
Future Conduct	Baggett v. Bullitt (1964)
Solicitation	In re Primus (1978)
Membership restriction	Hishon v. King & Spalding (1984) Roberts v. United States Jaycees (1984) Rotary Int'l v. Rotary Club of Duarte (1987) New York Club Ass'n v. City of New York (1988) Dallas v. Stanglin (1989) Hurley v. Irish-American Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Group of Boston (1995) Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000) Christian Legal Society v. Martinez (2010)
Primaries and elections	Cousins v. Wigoda (1975) Democratic Party v. Wisconsin (1981) Tashjian v. Republican Party (1986) Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party (1997) California Democratic Party v. Jones (2000) Clingman v. Beaver (2005) New York State Board of Elections v. Lopez Torres (2008) Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party (2008)

Freedom to petition
United States v. Cruikshank (1876) Thomas v. Collins (1945) Eastern Railroad Presidents Conference v. Noerr Motor Freight, Inc. (1961) NAACP v. Button (1963) Edwards v. South Carolina (1963) United Mine Workers v. Pennington (1965) Cox v. Louisiana (1965) California Motor Transport Co. v. Trucking Unlimited (1972) Smith v. Arkansas State Highway Employees (1979) McDonald v. Smith (1985) Meyer v. Grant (1988) Buckley v. American Constitutional Law Foundation (1999) BE and K Construction Co. v. National Labor Relations Board (2002) Doe v. Reed (2010) Borough of Duryea v. Guarnieri (2011)

Freedom to petition