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Arizona Free Enterprise Club’s Freedom Club PAC v. Bennett

Consolidated with:

Docket No. Op. Below Argument Opinion Vote Author Term
10-238 9th Cir. Mar 28, 2011 Jun 27, 2011 5-4 Roberts OT 2010

Holding: Arizona's matching funds scheme, which provides additional funds to a publicly funded candidate when expenditures by a privately financed candidate and independent groups exceed the funding initially allotted to the publicly financed candidate, substantially burdens political speech and is not sufficiently justified by a compelling interest to survive First Amendment scrutiny.

Judgment: Reversed, 5-4, in an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts on June 27, 2011. Justice Kagan filed a dissenting opinion, which was joined by Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Sotomayor.

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