Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1989)
- Docket
- 88-1569
- Decided
- 1989-01-01
Summary
Question: Did the Michigan Campaign Finance Act violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments? Conclusion: No. In making its case, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce argued that it should have been excluded from the act's restrictions since the Chamber was a "nonprofit ideological corporation" which was more analogous to a political association than a business firm. The Court disagreed and upheld the Michigan law. Justice Marshall found that the Chamber was akin to a business group given its activities, linkages with community business leaders, and high degree of members (over seventy-five percent) which were business corporations. Furthermore, Marshall found that the statute was narrowly crafted and implemented to achieve the important goal of maintaining integrity in the political process.