Austin v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce

494 U.S. 652 · Decided March 27, 1990 · Supreme Court of the United States

At a glance

Austin v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce was decided on March 27, 1990 by a vote of 6–3. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice Thurgood Marshall wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Campaign spending” in the First Amendment area.

Read the opinion

• CourtListener (Free Law Project) — opinion text
• Library of Congress — official U.S. Reports scan

Case details

How the Justices voted

Full case caption

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

SCDB identifiers: case 1989-055, docket 1989-055-01.

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Cases on the same legal provision: First Amendment (speech, press, and assembly)

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Same Term, same area (First Amendment)

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• Employment Division v. Smith
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Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error