''United States v. Lee'', 455 U.S. 252 (1982), was a
United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
case establishing
precedent
A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...
regarding the limits of
free exercise of religious conscience by employers.
Background
The appellant, an
Amish
The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churc ...
employer, sued the
Federal Government of the United States
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fe ...
following an assessment for unpaid
Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
taxes, claiming that the imposition of such taxes violated his freedom of conscience. The
District Court had found in favor of the appellant.
Ruling
Chief Justice Warren Burger
Warren Earl Burger (September 17, 1907 – June 25, 1995) was an American attorney and jurist who served as the 15th chief justice of the United States from 1969 to 1986. Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Burger graduated from the St. Paul Colleg ...
delivered the opinion of the Court, with Justices Brennan, White, Marshall, Blackmun, Powell, Rehnquist, and O'Connor, joining, and Justice Stevens separately concurring.
The Court's opinion held that the tax imposed on employers to support the social security system must be uniformly applicable to all, except if the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
explicitly provides otherwise. The Court's majority opinion explained its reasoning:
Use as precedent
''Lee'' was cited during
oral argument
Oral arguments are spoken presentations to a judge or appellate court by a lawyer (or parties when representing themselves) of the legal reasons why they should prevail. Oral argument at the appellate level accompanies written briefs, which also a ...
s in ''
Burwell v. Hobby Lobby
''Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc.'', 573 U.S. 682 (2014), is a landmark decision in United States corporate law by the United States Supreme Court allowing privately held for-profit corporations to be exempt from a regulation its owners relig ...
'' (2014), a case about how the contraception requirement in the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act affected closely held for-profit corporations.
See also
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Religious Freedom Restoration Act
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993, Pub. L. No. 103-141, 107 Stat. 1488 (November 16, 1993), codified at through (also known as RFRA, pronounced "rifra"), is a 1993 United States federal law that "ensures that interests in religiou ...
References
Further reading
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External links
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{{US1stAmendment
1982 in religion
1982 in United States case law
Freedom of religion in the United States
Social Security lawsuits
United States Supreme Court cases
United States Supreme Court cases of the Burger Court