Federal Election Commission v. Christine Beaumont
539 U.S. 146 · Decided June 16, 2003 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Federal Election Commission v. Christine Beaumont was decided on June 16, 2003 by a vote of 7–2. The Court reversed the lower court's decision. Justice David H. Souter wrote the opinion of the Court. SCDB classifies its main issue as “Campaign spending” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 539 U.S. 146 · 123 S. Ct. 2200 · 156 L. Ed. 2d 179 · 2003 U.S. LEXIS 4595
- Docket number
- 02-403
- Decided
- June 16, 2003
- Argued
- March 25, 2003
- Court era
- Rehnquist Court
- Decision type
- Opinion of the Court (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 7–2
- Majority opinion
- David H. Souter
- 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
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist | Majority | |
| Justice John Paul Stevens | Majority | |
| Justice Sandra Day O'Connor | Majority | |
| Justice Antonin Scalia | Dissent | |
| Justice Anthony M. Kennedy | Majority | |
| Justice David H. Souter | Majority | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Clarence Thomas | Dissent | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Majority | |
| Justice Stephen G. Breyer | Majority |
Full case caption
Federal Election Commission v. Christine Beaumont et al.
SCDB identifiers: case 2002-074, docket 2002-074-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Campaign spending”
- Mitch McConnell v. Federal Election CommissionLaw held unconstitutional
- Federal Election Commission v. Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee
- Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc. v. Federal Election Commission
- Neil Randall v. William H. SorrellLaw held unconstitutional
- Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government Pac
- Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc.Law held unconstitutional
Cases on the same legal provision: Federal Election Campaign Act
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Virginia v. Barry Elton BlackLaw held unconstitutional
- Illinois ex Rel. Lisa Madigan v. Telemarketing Associates, Inc.
- Virginia v. Kevin Lamont Hicks
- William Overton v. Michelle Bazzetta
- United States v. American Library Association, Inc.
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