Supreme Court of the United States · Official docket →
Charles G. Moore, et ux. v. United States
Paid petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, No. 20-36122 · judgment June 7, 2022
Before the decision, about 4.8× the 4.1% base rate. The model weighted this up for counsel who has won certiorari before, a Ninth Circuit decision below, and a circuit split argued in the petition.
Question presented
The Sixteenth Amendment authorizes Congress to lay "taxes on incomes ... without apportionment among the several States." Beginning with Eisner v. Macomber, 252 U.S. 189 (1920), this Court's decisions have uniformly held "income," for Sixteenth Amendment purposes, to require realization by the taxpayer. In the decision below, however, the Ninth Circuit approved taxation of a married couple on earnings that they undisputedly did not realize but were instead retained and reinvested by a corporation in which they are minority shareholders. It held that "realization of income is not a constitutional requirement" for Congress to lay an "income" tax exempt from apportionment. App.12. In so holding, the Ninth Circuit became "the first court in the country to state that an 'income tax' doesn't require that a 'taxpayer has realized income."' App.38 (Bumatay, J., dissenting from denial of rehearing en banc). The question presented is: Whether the Sixteenth Amendment authorizes Congress to tax unrealized sums without apportionment among the states.
Counsel of record
For petitioner
Andrew Michael Grossman
Baker & Hostetler LLP
For respondent
Elizabeth B. Prelogar
Solicitor General
Case
Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences
Amicus briefs
8 cert-stage · 43 merits
(28 supporting pet./neither, 15 respondent)
Argument & decision
Argued December 5, 2023 — Andrew M. Grossman · Elizabeth B. Prelogar. Audio and transcript
Decided September 8, 2023. Opinion by Kavanaugh.
Proceedings
- Jul 22 2024Judgment Issued.
- Jun 20 2024Adjudged to be AFFIRMED. Kavanaugh, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Roberts, C. J., and Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson, JJ., joined. Jackson, J., filed a concurring opinion. Barrett, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which Alito, J., joined. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Gorsuch, J., joined.
- Dec 05 2023Argued. For petitioners: Andrew M. Grossman, Washington, D. C. For respondent: Elizabeth B. Prelogar, Solicitor General, Department of Justice, Washington, D. C.
- Nov 15 2023Reply of petitioners Charles G. Moore, et ux. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amici curiae of John R. Brooks and David Gamage filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amicus curiae of Amandeep S. Grewal filed.(11/6/2023) (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amici curiae of George A. Callas and Mindy Herzfeld filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amicus curiae of The American College of Tax Counsel filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amici curiae of Tax Economists filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amici curiae of Main Street Alliance, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amici curiae of Professors Akhil Reed Amar, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amici curiae of Tax Law Center at NYU Law, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amici curiae of Professors of Tax Law, Legal History, and Computational Science filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amicus curiae of Alex Zhang filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 23 2023Brief amici curiae of Arizona, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 20 2023Brief amici curiae of Tax Professors Donald B. Tobin and Ellen P. Aprill filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 20 2023Brief amici curiae of Professors Bruce Ackerman, Joseph Fishkin and William E. Forbath filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 19 2023Brief amici curiae of Reuven Avi-Yonah, Clinton G. Wallace & Bret Wells filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 19 2023Brief amicus curiae of American Tax Policy Institute filed. (Distributed)
- Oct 19 2023CIRCULATED
- Oct 17 2023Record requested from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
- Oct 17 2023Record received from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The record is electronic and is available on PACER.
- Oct 16 2023Brief of respondent United States filed.
- Oct 12 2023SET FOR ARGUMENT on Tuesday, December 5, 2023.
- Oct 11 2023Brief amicus curiae of Theodore P. Seto filed.
- Oct 11 2023Brief amicus curiae of L.E. Simmons filed.
- Sep 08 2023Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioners GRANTED. Statement of Justice Alito. (Detached Opinion)
- Sep 08 2023Brief amicus curiae of Calvin H. Johnson filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of Independent Women's Law Center filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of Liberty Justice Center filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of Pacific Research Institute filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of Atlantic Legal Foundation filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amici curiae of West Virginia, et al. filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of Landmark Legal Foundation filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amici curiae of The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, et al. filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of Mark E. Berg filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amici curiae of Saving America's Family Enterprises, et al. filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of Philanthropy Roundtable filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amici curiae of Individual Taxpayers filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council in support of neither party filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amici curiae of Professors of Law and Linguistics in support of neither party filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of Americans for Tax Reform filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amici curiae of Sixteenth Amendment Insights, LLC and Jeffrey N. Schwartz filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of FreedomWorks, Inc. filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amici curiae of Southeastern Legal Foundation and Young America’s Foundation filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amici curiae of The Buckeye Institute and National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, Inc. filed.
- Sep 06 2023Amicus brief of National Taxpayers Union Foundation not accepted for filing. (Corrected version submitted September 11, 2023.)
- Sep 06 2023Brief amicus curiae of National Taxpayers Union Foundation in support of neither party (September 7, 2023) filed.
- Sep 06 2023Brief amici curiae of Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III, et al. filed.
- Sep 05 2023Brief amicus curiae of Professor Hank Adler filed.
- Sep 05 2023Brief amicus curiae of Southern Policy Law Institute filed.
- Sep 05 2023Brief amici curiae of Stop Extraterritorial American Taxation and Association of Americans Resident Overseas filed.
- Aug 30 2023Brief of petitioners Charles G. Moore, et ux. filed.
- Jul 18 2023Motion to extend the time to file the briefs on the merits is granted. The time to file petitioners' brief on the merits is extended to and including August 30, 2023. The time to file respondent's brief on the merits is extended to and including October 16, 2023.
- Jul 10 2023Motion for an extension of time within which to file the briefs on the merits filed.
- Jul 10 2023Motion to dispense with printing the joint appendix filed by petitioner Charles G. Moore, et ux.
- Jun 26 2023Petition GRANTED.
- Jun 20 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/22/2023.
- May 30 2023DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 6/15/2023.
- May 30 2023Reply of petitioners Charles Moore, et al. filed. (Distributed)
- May 16 2023Brief of respondent United States in opposition filed.
- Apr 18 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is further extended to and including May 16, 2023.
- Apr 17 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response from April 26, 2023 to May 16, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
- Mar 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of Cato Institute filed.
- Mar 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of Landmark Legal Foundation filed.
- Mar 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of The Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America filed.
- Mar 27 2023Brief amici curiae of The Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, et al. filed.
- Mar 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of Southeastern Legal Foundation filed.
- Mar 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of The Buckeye Institute filed.
- Mar 27 2023Brief amici curiae of The Pacific Research Institute, et al. filed.
- Mar 27 2023Brief amicus curiae of Americans for Tax Reform filed.
- Mar 17 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including April 26, 2023.
- Mar 16 2023Motion to extend the time to file a response from March 27, 2023 to April 26, 2023, submitted to The Clerk.
- Feb 21 2023Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due March 27, 2023)