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Federal Election Commission v. Beaumont March 25, 2003 (02-403) return to case listing Case Summary The Federal Election Campaign Act, 2 U.S.C.S. § 441b(a), (FECA) prevents corporations and labor unions from financially endorsing federal election campaigns in any way. The act does not, however, differentiate between for-profit and non-profit entities. In 2000, Respondents -- a nonprofit organization and a voter -- brought suit and argued that FECA violated the First Amendment rights to free expression and association. The district court ruled that Respondents' First Amendment rights were violated and that the ability to make campaign contributions is an important form of political speech. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed and held that FECA, as applied to Respondents, was an unconstitutional violation of the nonprofit group's First Amendment rights. The opinion of the Fourth Circuit is found at 278 F.3d 261. To see the opinion of the lower court, click here. PREDICTED OUTCOME ACTUAL OUTCOME Forecasting Model Expert One Expert Two Expert Three 5-4 to Reverse 6-3 to Affirm 5-4 to Reverse n/a 7-2 to Reverse VOTING TO REVERSE Stevens O'Connor Souter Ginsburg Breyer Souter Ginsburg Breyer Rehnquist Stevens Souter Ginsburg Breyer Rehnquist Stevens O'Connor Kennedy Souter Ginsburg Breyer VOTING TO AFFIRM Rehnquist Scalia Kennedy Thomas Rehnquist Stevens O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Thomas O'Connor Scalia Kennedy Thomas Scalia Thomas return to case listing