Media Coverage
Source: Law360
Media Coverage
04.02.14
In McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down overall limits to individual donations to political candidates and parties during a federal election campaign.
“There is likely to be some media misinterpretation on what the Supreme Court held,” predicted Fred Lowell, the San Francisco-based leader of Pillsbury’s political law practice. “The per candidate and political party limits are unaffected by the decision; only the aggregate individual limit was invalidated. State and local laws which limit the total aggregate amount of contributions in state and local elections are likely to be invalidated by this decision.”
Lowell said, “The Supreme Court reaffirmed the principal that 'Congress may not regulate contributions simply to reduce the amount of money in politics, or to restrict the political participation of some in order to enhance the relative influence of others.' Thus, the court directly rejected the agenda of the political reform industry and many media editorialists and academics.”
“The court left open the door to future congressional legislation restricting transfers between committees,” he added.