Today in Supreme Court History: December 10, 2003

12/10/2003: McConnell v. Federal Election Commission decided.

Comments

[Dan Schiavetta]

Whole Women's Health v. Jackson, 595 U.S. --- (decided December 10, 2021): suit against abortion "bounty hunter" statute (Texas S. 8) can proceed against state health officials having collateral authority over abortion services but not against judges and clerks who put S. 8 cases on dockets (Sotomayor's argument in dissent, noted on this site, that such a statute can in effect prevent the exercise of any explicitly recognized Constitutional right, survives Dobbs)

McConnell v. Federal Election Comm'n, 540 U.S. 93 (decided December 10, 2003): rejected First Amendment attack on McCain-Feingold campaign finance disclosure law (overruled by Citizens United v. FEC, 2010)

Tanzin v. Tanvir, 592 U.S. --- (decided December 10, 2020): FBI agents violating Religious Freedom Restoration Act can be liable in individual capacities (plaintiffs were Muslims who were placed on "no-fly" list for refusing to inform on their communities; they were then taken off list, making the injunctive claim moot; Court here held only that claim for damages could go forward, without deciding merits)

[SMP0328]

Citizens United partially overruled McConnell. Most of McConnell is still good law.

[Dan Schiavetta]

Thanks
Frankly I couldn’t face reading through that endless case

[F.D. Wolf]

McConnell v. FEC is perhaps unique in that it generated not one majority opinion, but THREE majority opinions, each subscribed to by a different combination of five justices. There were eight total opinions in the case, filling up 273 pages of the United States Reports.

Those 273 pages were relatively succinct compared to the opinion the Court was reviewing from a three-judge panel of the D.C. District Court, which, at 743 pages is the longest in the annals of American judicial history. The District Court panel included a per curiam opinion, which one judge did not join, followed by separate opinions from all three judges.

All in all, long, convoluted judicial opinions no one could decipher reviewing a long, convoluted law no one could decipher.

[F.D. Wolf]

To clarify my own convoluted post: three majority opinions, two lineups.

Titles I & 2 of McCain-Feingold: majority opinion by Stevens AND O'Connor, joined by Souter, Ginsburg, and Breyer

Titles 3 & 4: Rehnquist, joined by O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, and Souter

Title 5: Breyer, joined by Stevens, O'Connor, Souter, and Ginsburg.