WISCONSIN RIGHT TO LIFE v. FEC

Legal Principle at Issue

Whether the three-judge district court correctly dismissed appellant's as-applied constitutional challenge to the federal prohibition on the use of corporate treasury funds to finance "electioneering communications."

Action

Vacated and remanded. Petitioning party received a favorable disposition.

Facts/Syllabus

The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) prohibits corporations from using their general treasury funds to pay for any "electioneering communications," which the Act defines as any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that refers to a candidate for federal office and that is broadcast within 30 days of a federal primary election or 60 days of a federal general election in the jurisdiction in which that candidate is running for office. 

Appellant Wisconsin Right to Life brought this action against the Federal Election Commission seeking a judgment declaring the Act unconstitutional as applied to several broadcast advertisements that it intended to run during the 2004 election. Wisconsin Right to Life also sought a preliminary injunction barring the FEC from enforcing the Act against those advertisements. The three-judge District Court denied the motion for a preliminary injunction and subsequently dismissed the complaint in an unpublished opinion.