Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee

Decided June 25, 2001. David Hackett Souter delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 00-191 · 533 U.S. 431 (2001) · Cited 205 times

Holding

Because a party’s coordinated expenditures, unlike expenditures truly independent, may be restricted to minimize circumvention of the Act’s contribution limits, the Party’s facial challenge is rejected.

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 5–4.

“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.

• Buckley v. Valeo · 424 U.S. 1 (1976)
• Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v. Federal Election Commission · 518 U.S. 604 (1996)
• Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government PAC · 528 U.S. 377 (2000)
• Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc. · 479 U.S. 238 (1986)
• Bartnicki v. Vopper · 532 U.S. 514 (2001)
• Federal Election Commission v. National Conservative Political Action Committee · 470 U.S. 480 (1985)
• Burson v. Freeman · 504 U.S. 191 (1992)
• California Democratic Party v. Jones · 530 U.S. 567 (2000)
• United States v. International Union United Automobile, Aircraft & Agricultural Implement Workers · 352 U.S. 567 (1957)
• Broadrick v. Oklahoma · 413 U.S. 601 (1973)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Button · 371 U.S. 415 (1963)
• Perry Education Ass'n v. Perry Local Educators' Ass'n · 460 U.S. 37 (1983)
• National Ass'n for the Advancement of Colored People v. Alabama Ex Rel. Patterson · 357 U.S. 449 (1958)
• Roberts v. United States Jaycees · 468 U.S. 609 (1984)
• Cohen v. California · 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
• Erznoznik v. City of Jacksonville · 422 U.S. 205 (1975)
• United States v. Playboy Entertainment Group, Inc. · 529 U.S. 803 (2000)
• Sweezy v. New Hampshire Ex Rel. Wyman · 354 U.S. 234 (1957)
• Federal Election Commission v. Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee · 454 U.S. 27 (1981)
• Eu v. San Francisco County Democratic Central Committee · 489 U.S. 214 (1989)
• Mills v. Alabama · 384 U.S. 214 (1966)
• Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party · 520 U.S. 351 (1997)
• Tashjian v. Republican Party of Connecticut · 479 U.S. 208 (1986)
• Norman v. Reed · 502 U.S. 279 (1992)
• California Medical Ass'n v. Federal Election Commission · 453 U.S. 182 (1981)

Cited by

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

• McCutcheon v. Federal Election Comm'n · 572 U.S. 185 (2014)
• McConnell v. Federal Election Commission · 540 U.S. 93 (2003)
• Randall v. Sorrell · 548 U.S. 230 (2006)
• Federal Election Commission v. Beaumont · 539 U.S. 146 (2003)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• Davis v. Federal Election Commission · 554 U.S. 724 (2008)

Official text

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

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David Hackett Souter’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2001). 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).