January 30, 2026 marked the 50th anniversary of the historic Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo. To celebrate, the Institute for Free Speech gathered legal experts and advocates from across the nation to reflect on the legacy of the landmark case and share insights on how the decision impacts us today.
Expert Panel Discussion:
To commemorate the 50th anniversary, the Institute for Free Speech held a virtual panel with Bradley A. Smith, Joel Gora, and Eugene Volokh to reflect on the history of the case and its enduring legacy today. Kim Strassel of the Wall Street Journal moderated the discussion.
About the panel:
Brad Smith is the Founder & Chairman of the Institute for Free Speech and the Former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. He is one of the nation’s foremost experts on campaign finance law and political speech.
Joel Gora is a Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School and a former attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. While at the ACLU, Joel argued Buckley v. Valeo before the Supreme Court.
Eugene Volokh is a legal scholar who is the Thomas M. Siebel Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University and the co-founder of the popular legal blog the Volokh Conspiracy.
Kim Strassel is a member of the Wall Street Journal editorial board. She writes the All Things with Kim Strassel newsletter and hosts the associated podcast by the same name.
Watch the discussion below:
Blog Series:
The Institute for Free Speech also published a series of essays on the Buckley v. Valeo decision, which were cross-posted in partnership with the Volokh Conspiracy. Read the series:
- Expert Panel: A Discussion of the Historic Buckley v. Valeo Decision
- Buckley v. Valeo: A Retrospective Series, by David Keating
- The Buckley Principles, by Lee Goodman
- The Enduring Legacy of Buckley v. Valeo, by Floyd Abrams
- Buckley v. Valeo is Not What Ails American Democracy, by Ilya Somin
- American Democracy and the Actuality of Corruption, by Jeff Milyo
- Buckley and the Appearance of Corruption Standard, by David Primo
- Life without Buckley v. Valeo, by John Samples
- Express Advocacy at 50, by Allison Hayward
- Celebrating Buckley v. Valeo: A Landmark of Political Freedom, by Joel Gora
- James L. Buckley: The Man and His Principles, by Roger Pilon
- Effective Advocacy, by Allen Dickerson
- To Buckley v. Valeo: The Decision that Saved Democracy, by Bradley A. Smith
Podcast:
While the Institute for Free Speech Free Speech Arguments podcast normally airs current oral arguments, we thought that it would be interesting to spotlight the oral arguments in this landmark case during the month of its anniversary.
James L. Buckley, et al. v. Francis R. Valeo, Secretary of the United States Senate, et al. argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on November 10, 1975 and decided on January 30, 1976. Argued by Ralph K. Winter, Joel M. Gora, Brice M. Claggett, and (on behalf of James L. Buckley) and Daniel M. Friedman, Archibald Cox, Lloyd N. Cutler, and Ralph S. Spritzer (on behalf of Francis R. Valeo).
Listen to the argument here:
The Free Speech Arguments podcast also featured an audio-only version of the Buckley v. Valeo expert panel with Bradley A. Smith, Joel Gora, Eugene Volokh, and Kim Strassel.
Listen to the panel here:
