Federal Election Commission et al. v. National Right to Work Committee et al.

Decided December 13, 1982. William Hubbs Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 81-1506 · 459 U.S. 197 (1982) · Cited 233 times

Holding

The persons solicited by NRWC were insufficiently attached to the corporation to qualify as members under 441b(b)(4)(C) of the Act.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 9–0.

“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.

• First Nat. Bank of Boston v. Bellotti · 435 U.S. 765 (1978)
• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• United States v. International Union United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers · 352 U.S. 567 (1957)
• United States Civil Service Commission v. National Ass'n of Letter Carriers · 413 U.S. 548 (1973)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Pipefitters Local Union No. 562 v. United States · 407 U.S. 385 (1972)
• Grayned v. City of Rockford · 408 U.S. 104 (1972)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• Connally v. General Construction Co. · 269 U.S. 385 (1926)
• National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corp. · 301 U.S. 1 (1937)
• Shelton v. Tucker · 364 U.S. 479 (1960)
• Speiser v. Randall · 357 U.S. 513 (1958)
• Smith v. California · 361 U.S. 147 (1959)
• United States v. Morton Salt Co. · 338 U.S. 632 (1950)
• Village of Schaumburg v. Citizens for a Better Environment · 444 U.S. 620 (1980)
• Bates v. City of Little Rock · 361 U.S. 516 (1960)
• Rostker v. Goldberg · 453 U.S. 57 (1981)
• Burks v. Lasker · 441 U.S. 471 (1979)
• California Medical Ass'n v. Federal Election Commission · 453 U.S. 182 (1981)
• Reconstruction Finance Corporation v. Beaver County · 328 U.S. 204 (1946)

Cited by

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

• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc. · 479 U.S. 238 (1986)
• Federal Election Commission v. Beaumont · 539 U.S. 146 (2003)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
• Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. · 551 U.S. 449 (2007)
• Austin v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce · 494 U.S. 652 (1990)
• Federal Election Commission v. National Conservative Political Action Committee · 470 U.S. 480 (1985)
• McCutcheon v. Federal Election Comm'n · 572 U.S. 185 (2014)
• United States v. National Treasury Employees Union · 513 U.S. 454 (1995)
• Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC · 528 U.S. 377 (2000)
• Federal Election Commission v. NRA Political Victory Fund · 513 U.S. 88 (1994)

Official text

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

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William Hubbs Rehnquist’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (1982). 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).