OCTOBER TERM, 1975
Opinion of BURGER, C. J.
424 U. S.
Congress intended to regulate all aspects of federal campaign finances, but what remains after today's holding
leaves no more than a shadow of what Congress contemplated. I question whether the residue leaves a workable
program.
(1)
DISCLOSURE PROVISIONS
Disclosure is, in principle, the salutary and constitutional remedy for most of the ills Congress was seeking to
alleviate. I therefore agree fully with the broad proposition that public disclosure of contributions by individuals
and by entities-particularly corporations and labor
unions-is an effective means of revealing the type of
political support that is sometimes coupled with expectations of special favors or rewards. That disclosure impinges on First Amendment rights is conceded by the
Court, ante, at 64-66, but given the objectives to which
disclosure is directed, I agree that the need for disclosure
outweighs individual constitutional claims.
Disclosure is, however, subject to First Amendment
limitations which are to be defined by looking to the relevant public interests. The legitimate public interest is
the elimination of the appearance and reality of corrupting influences. Serious dangers to the very processes of
government justify disclosure of contributions of such
dimensions reasonably thought likely to purchase special
favors. These fears have been at the root of the Court's
prior decisions upholding disclosure requirements, and I
therefore have no disagreement, for example, with Burroughs v. United States, 290 U. S. 534 (1934).
The Court's theory, however, goes beyond permissible
limits. Under the Court's view, disclosure serves broad
informational purposes, enabling the public to be fully
informed on matters of acute public interest. Forced
disclosure of one aspect of a citizen's political activity,
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents