Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee and Douglas Jones v. Federal Election Commission
518 U.S. 604 · Decided June 26, 1996 · Supreme Court of the United States
At a glance
Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee and Douglas Jones v. Federal Election Commission was decided on June 26, 1996 by a vote of 7–2. The Court vacated the lower court's decision and remanded the case. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote the opinion announcing the judgment of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Campaign spending” in the First Amendment area. SCDB records that the Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 518 U.S. 604 · 116 S. Ct. 2309 · 135 L. Ed. 2d 795 · 1996 U.S. LEXIS 4258
- Docket number
- 95-489
- Decided
- June 26, 1996
- Argued
- April 15, 1996
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Judgment of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- Stephen G. Breyer
- Opinion assigned by
- William H. Rehnquist
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Campaign spending
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- Federal Election Campaign Act
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Held unconstitutional
- An act of Congress
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Conservative what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Special concurrence | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Special concurrence | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Dissent | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Judgment of the Court | Wrote an opinion |
Full case caption
Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee and Douglas Jones, Treasurer v. Federal Election Commission
SCDB identifiers: case 1995-086, docket 1995-086-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Campaign spending”
- Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government Pac
- Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee
- Austin v. Michigan State Chamber of Commerce
- Federal Election Commission v. Christine Beaumont
- Mitch McConnell v. Federal Election CommissionLaw held unconstitutional
- Federal Election Commission v. Massachusetts Citizens for Life, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Election Campaign Act
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- 44 Liquormart, Inc. and Peoples Super Liquor Stores, Inc. v. Rhode Island and Rhode Island Liquor Stores AssociationAltered precedentLaw held unconstitutional
- Bd. of County Comm'rs v. Umbehr
- O'Hare Truck Service v. City of Northlake
- Denver Area Educational Telecommunications Consortium, Inc. v. Federal Communications CommissionLaw held unconstitutional
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