U.S. High Court to Review Fund Limits : Proposition 73: The justices will consider whether to restore the law that restricts the amount of money contributors can give to candidates for state office.

SACRAMENTO —  The U.S. Supreme Court will consider Friday whether to grant a stay that would restore California’s campaign contribution limits, attorneys in the case said Wednesday.

Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who had agreed to consider the issue himself, instead decided to let the full court determine whether to block a lower court ruling that overturned the voter-approved limits of Proposition 73.

Supporters of Proposition 73 were pleased by Rehnquist’s decision and said that opening up the issue to the entire court improves their chance of winning reinstatement of the restrictions.

Proposition 73 placed a limit of $1,000 on contributions from individuals and $5,000 on donations from political action committees to a candidate in a fiscal year. But two weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Lawrence K. Karlton ruled that the fiscal-year limits were unfair to challengers and therefore unconstitutional.

Since his ruling, candidates for statewide office have rushed to raise contributions above the old limit. Democratic gubernatorial nominee Dianne Feinstein, who has done the most to take advantage of the ruling, could raise at least $2 million in unrestricted donations.

Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor twice declined to stay Karlton’s order. But Rehnquist’s decision to take the matter before the entire court could provide a way to overcome her objections and reinstate the limits.

The Republican Party and two authors of the initiative, Assembly Republican Leader Ross Johnson of La Habra and Independent Sen. Quentin Kopp of San Francisco, have pushed for restoration of the limits, arguing that Karlton’s decision just six weeks before the Nov. 6 election created confusion in statewide and local campaigns.

Attorneys for Democratic legislative leaders, labor unions and the Democratic Party--who won the initial ruling from Karlton--filed briefs Wednesday arguing that granting a stay would unfairly restrict candidates’ right to free expression.

Attorneys for the Democrats also argued that reinstating the limits now--more than two weeks after the judge’s decision--would itself create confusion, particularly over what candidates should do about money collected without limits.

But Susie Swatt, a spokeswoman for Johnson, said the supporters of Proposition 73 want an immediate halt to the massive political donations, which create the possibility of undue influence by major contributors.

“Without the stay, the damage that has been done by Karlton’s decision could never be undone,” she said. “We want to prevent what’s left of the campaign from becoming an even greater fund-raising binge.”