The U.S. Supreme Court case Federal Election Commission v. National Right to Work Committee in 1982 revolved around the issue of campaign finance and its regulation under federal law. The National Right to Work Committee (NRWC) was accused by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) of violating certain provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act, which restricts how corporations can solicit contributions for political purposes. NRWC argued that these restrictions violated their First Amendment rights to free speech and association. However, the Supreme Court ruled against them in a 7-2 decision, stating that such limitations were necessary to prevent corruption or its appearance in politics and did not violate constitutional protections on free speech as they only limited methods of fundraising rather than actual political advocacy.

In the dissenting opinion for Federal Election Commission v. National Right to Work Committee, Justice Blackmun argued that the majority's decision was a misinterpretation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). He contended that FECA does not prohibit non-profit organizations from soliciting funds outside their membership base as long as they do so through separate segregated funds or Political Action Committees (PACs). The justice believed this interpretation is consistent with Congress' intent to limit potential corruption in campaign financing while preserving First Amendment rights. Furthermore, he criticized the majority's broad definition of "members," arguing it could potentially allow corporations and unions to bypass contribution limits by claiming donors are members. In his view, this undermines FECA’s purpose and opens up possibilities for abuse. Thus, he disagreed with both how the law was interpreted and applied in this case.