No. 23-361

Brian D. Swanson v. United States

Lower Court: Eleventh Circuit
Docketed: 2023-10-04
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: constitutional-interpretation federal-appellate-procedure frivolous-sanction income-tax insular-cases puerto-rico territorial-status uniformity-clause unincorporated-territory
Key Terms:
SocialSecurity Securities LaborRelations
Latest Conference: 2023-11-03
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Has Puerto Rico become an incorporated Territory and become fully subject to the Constitution's Uniformity Clause when collecting the Federal Income Tax or does the Territory Clause permit the Uniformity Clause to be violated?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED In the decision below, The Eleventh Circuit summarily affirmed the dismissal of petitioner's income tax refund suit, which challenged Puerto Rico’s status as an “unincorporated” Territory. The court concluded that, “First, it is not clear that the Uniformity Clause applies to income taxes.” The questions are: 1. Has Puerto Rico become an “incorporated” Territory and become fully subject to the Constitution’s Uniformity Clause when collecting the Federal Income Tax or does the Territory : Clause permit the Uniformity Clause to be violated? 2. Are the Insular Cases fundamentally flawed because they create “incorporated” and “unincorporated” Territories, which compels Petitioner to pay more Federal Income Tax than other American citizens based on geographical location within the United States? 3. Did the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals abuse its discretion under Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure 38 when it imposed an $8,000 frivolous sanction on Petitioner for asking the questions presented?

Docket Entries

2023-11-06
Petition DENIED.
2023-10-18
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/3/2023.
2023-10-11
Waiver of right of respondent United States to respond filed.
2023-09-14
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due November 3, 2023)

Attorneys

Brian D. Swanson
Brian D. Swanson — Petitioner
Brian D. Swanson — Petitioner
United States
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent
Elizabeth B. PrelogarSolicitor General, Respondent