Miles v. Graham, 268 U.S. 501 (1925)

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Miles v. Graham

No. 53

Argued March 16, 1925
Decided June 1, 1925
268 U.S. 501

ERROR TO THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

Syllabus

1. Under Art. III, § 1, of the Constitution it is the duty of Congress definitely to declare the amount which a federal judge shall receive from time to time out of the public funds, and the times of payment, and the amount thus specified becomes his compensation, which is protected against diminution during his continuance in office. Evans v. Gore, 253 U.S. 245. P. 506.

2. So held where the salary of a judge of the Court of Claims was fixed and the appointment was made after enactment of the "Revenue Act of 1918," which prescribed that the official compensation of all the federal judges should be included in their gross income in computing their income taxes.

3. This provision of the Revenue Act for taxation of income cannot be treated as reducing the salaries of the judges of the Court of Claims specifically fixed by later enactment. P. 509.

284 F. 878 affirmed.

Error to a judgment of the district court. against an internal revenue collector in an action by a judge of the Court of Claims to recover a sum which the defendant had exacted of him as an income tax.