Austin, Michigan Secretary of State, et al. v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce

Decided March 27, 1990. Thurgood Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 88-1569 · 494 U.S. 652 (1990) · Cited 396 times

We don’t yet publish a summary of this opinion — read the official text below for the Court’s holding and reasoning.

How the Justices voted

Decided 6–3.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc. · 479 U.S. 238 (1986)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• Federal Election Commission v. National Right to Work Committee · 459 U.S. 197 (1982)
• Abood v. Detroit Board of Education · 431 U.S. 209 (1977)
• Federal Election Commission v. National Conservative Political Action Committee · 470 U.S. 480 (1985)
• Meyer v. Grant · 486 U.S. 414 (1988)
• Federal Communications Commission v. League of Women Voters of California · 468 U.S. 364 (1984)
• Dun & Bradstreet, Inc. v. Greenmoss Builders, Inc. · 472 U.S. 749 (1985)
• Consolidated Edison Co. of New York v. Public Service Commission · 447 U.S. 530 (1980)
• International Ass'n of MacHinists v. Street · 367 U.S. 740 (1961)
• Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty. · 391 U.S. 563 (1968)
• Williams v. Rhodes · 393 U.S. 23 (1968)
• Mills v. Alabama · 384 U.S. 214 (1966)
• Communications Workers of America v. Beck · 487 U.S. 735 (1988)
• United States v. International Union United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers · 352 U.S. 567 (1957)
• Pipefitters Local Union No. 562 v. United States · 407 U.S. 385 (1972)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Cort v. Ash · 422 U.S. 66 (1975)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette · 319 U.S. 624 (1943)
• Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc. · 425 U.S. 748 (1976)
• Thornhill v. Alabama · 310 U.S. 88 (1940)
• Nebraska Press Assn. v. Stuart · 427 U.S. 539 (1976)
• Speiser v. Randall · 357 U.S. 513 (1958)
• Police Dept. of Chicago v. Mosley · 408 U.S. 92 (1972)
• Terminiello v. Chicago · 337 U.S. 1 (1949)
• Schenck v. United States · 249 U.S. 47 (1919)
• Gitlow v. New York · 268 U.S. 652 (1925)
• Whitney v. California · 274 U.S. 357 (1927)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
• Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. · 551 U.S. 449 (2007)
• Federal Election Commission v. Beaumont · 539 U.S. 146 (2003)
• Davis v. Federal Election Commission · 554 U.S. 724 (2008)
• Renne v. Geary · 501 U.S. 312 (1991)
• Davenport v. Washington Education Ass'n · 551 U.S. 177 (2007)
• Janus v. State, County, and Municipal Employees · 585 U.S. 878 (2018)
• Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization · 597 U.S. 215 (2022)
• Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission · 518 U.S. 604 (1996)
• Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. Federal Communications Commission · 512 U.S. 622 (1994)
• City of Cincinnati v. Discovery Network, Inc. · 507 U.S. 410 (1993)
• Federal Election Commission v. NRA Political Victory Fund · 513 U.S. 88 (1994)
• Fulton v. Philadelphia · 593 U.S. 522 (2021)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

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Source: the U.S. Reports via govinfo.gov; authoring Justice and vote lineup from the Supreme Court Database (Washington University). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).