Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce 494 U.S. 652 (1990) The Michigan Campaign Finance Act (§54(1)) prohibited corporations from using corporate funds to contribute to candidates in State elections. Michigan business, led by the Chamber of Commerce, sued claiming that the law was an unconstitutional violation of the 1st Amendment. The Trial Court found the law to be unconstitutional. Michigan appealed. The Appellate Court reversed. The Chamber of Commerce appealed. The US Supreme Court affirmed and found the law to be constitutional. The US Supreme Court found that commercial speech is protected by the 1st Amendment, but not as much as other forms of speech. The Court found the State had a compelling government interest in maintaining integrity of the political process, and "corporate wealth can unfairly influence elections." The Court found that the law was narrowly tailored enough to be constitutional because it allowed corporations to make donations through independent, segregated funds. Contrast this case with First National Bank of Boston v. Bellotti (435 U.S. 765 (1978)), which came to pretty much the opposite decision.