Religion & Law

Religious Claim To Cancel Social Security Participation Fails

By Howard M. Friedman

 In Davis El v. Saul, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 194196 (MD TN, Oct. 20, 2020), a Tennessee federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendation (2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 195880 (Aug. 31, 2020)) and dismissed a suit by plaintiff who claimed that his free exercise rights, and other constitutional rights, were violated because the government gave him no way to terminate his participation in the Social Security system. The court affirmed the magistrate's conclusion that the Anti-Injunction Act bars the suit.   The magistrate said in part:

Plaintiff does not deny that he could fill out and submit Form 4029 and thereby possibly receive a religious exemption. Instead, he argues that he should not have to follow the required procedure because he does not want a religious exemption to SSI; he wants to "cancel" the contract he perceives to exist between himself and SSA....

Plaintiff has provided no authority for his proposition that not being provided with an alternative to requesting a religious exemption is itself a First Amendment violation....

Because Plaintiff's claims ultimately seek to enjoin the assessment and collection of a federal tax and Plaintiff cannot satisfy either prong of the limited exception to the Anti-Injunction Act's jurisdictional bar, this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiff's claims.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on October 27, 2020 (boomark / email).