United States v. Hatter, Judge, United States District Court for the Central District of California

Summary

The Court held that the Compensation Clause does not prohibit nondiscriminatory taxes like Medicare on federal judges, overruling Evans v. Gore on that point. However, the specific Social Security tax scheme singled out judges for unfavorable treatment, violating the Clause. The Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded. Justices Scalia and Thomas concurred in part and dissented in part, arguing the Medicare tax also violated the Clause.