Helvering v. Davis
United States Supreme Court
301 U.S. 619 (1937)
- Written by Robert Cane, JD
Facts
The Social Security Act of 1935 imposed a special income tax on employees to provide for the payment of old-age benefits. Congress passed the tax after thorough analysis. The president’s Committee on Economic Security investigated and reported on the tax in conjunction with a number of government advisory groups. House and Senate committees held extensive hearings. A number of state and national commissions provided research as well. Ultimately, the changing demographics of the United States showed a serious need for old-age benefits because there was a lack of availability for employment for persons over 40 years old and 75 percent of persons over 65 years old were at least partially dependent on others for financial support. The validity of the Social Security Act was challenged in the United States Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Cardozo, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.