JOHN C. BOYNTΟΝ et al., Appellees, v. STANLEY T. KUSPER, JR., County Clerk, et al., Appellants.
Nos. 61314, 61315, 61324 cons.
Supreme Court of Illinois
February 21, 1986
April 1, 1986
MILLER and GOLDENHERSH, JJ., dissenting.
Neil F. Hartigan, Attorney General, of Springfield (Roma Jones Stewart, Solicitor General, Patricia Rosen, Assistant Attorney General, and Barbara L. Greenspan,
Charles L. Barker, Hollis E. Wright and Joan S. Meier, of Jenner & Block, of Chicago, for appellant Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Arnold M. Flamm, of Orlikoff, Flamm and Patner; Harry A. Young, Jr., of Neistein, Richman, Hauslinger & Young, Ltd.; and Robert D. Allison, all of Chicago, for appellees.
Candace Wayne, of Chicago, Barbara Hart, of Reading, Pennsylvania, and Judith Avner, of New York, New York, for amicus curiae National Coalition Against Domestic Violence et al.
Arlene C. Erlebacher and Anne E. Rea, of Sidley & Austin, and Kathleen C. Yannias, all of Chicago, for amicus curiae YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago et al.
Laurie Woods and Joanne Schulman, of New York, New York, and Aviva Futorian, of Chicago, for amicus curiae Jane Doe.
JUSTICE RYAN delivered the opinion of the court:
Plaintiffs, John C. Boynton, Kent Koplin, Marianne Lubke, and Joanne Simon, brought this class action against several Cook County and Illinois State officers to challenge the validity of section 3 of “An Act to provide for the fees of the *** county clerk in counties of the third class” (
The legislature, as part of its statutory scheme to combat domestic violence, passed “An Act in relation to domestic relations and domestic violence shelters and service programs” (hereinafter cited as the Domestic Violence Shelters Act). (
In conjunction with the passage of these provisions, the legislature increased the fee charged by a county clerk for the issuance of a marriage license in a third class county from $15 to $25. County clerks were specifically directed to pay the $10 increase into the Domestic Violence Shelter and Service Fund. (
Under the Domestic Violence Shelters Act, the county clerk deposits the designated portion of the marriage license fee with the county treasurer. The county treasurer remits the money to the State Treasurer on a monthly basis. The State Treasurer deposits “such amounts into the Domestic Violence Shelter and Service Fund in the State treasury.”
In our case the four plaintiffs applied for marriage licenses in Cook County in February 1984. They were made aware that the cost of the license included the portion allotted to the Domestic Violence Shelter and Service Fund. Plaintiffs objected to the payment of this portion of the fee, but were informed that a license would not be issued unless the entire fee amount was paid. Plaintiffs paid the fee but filed a written protest with the county clerk regarding the portion designated for the shelters.
Plaintiffs filed this class action in February 1984 pursuant to
On cross-motions for summary judgment, the trial court ruled in favor of the plaintiff class. The court found that it was bound by our decision in Crocker v. Finley (1984), 99 Ill. 2d 444, to find the statute unconstitutional as a violation of the due process guarantee of
The virtues of the domestic-violence shelter program are not at issue in this case. However, our duty to decide whether a statute is violative of a constitutional provision cannot be evaded or neglected no matter how desirable or beneficial the legislation may be. (Grasse v. Dealer‘s Transport Co. (1952), 412 Ill. 179, 190.) In considering the question before us we must be mindful of Justice Holmes’ admonition in Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon (1922), 260 U.S. 393, 416, 67 L. Ed. 322, 326, 43 S. Ct. 158, 160, that “a strong public desire to improve the public condition is not enough to warrant achieving the desire by a shorter cut than the constitutional way of paying for the change.”
We are dealing in this case with a very sensitive and highly emotional issue. Plaintiffs, defendants, intervenor and amici have devoted a large portion of the briefs to the subject of wife beating and whether contemporary societal norms sanction such conduct. Similarly, a substantial part of the record below consists of statistical data, testimony of experts and publications. The thrust of much of this material is that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between marriage and domestic violence. Much of this material is irrelevant. Simply stated, the issue before us is whether our legislature may impose a “fee” upon a class of people based only on the fact that they have applied for marriage licenses, where the money collected is used to fund a general welfare program.
Since we are dealing here with the same sections of
In Crocker, the plaintiff class challenged the validity of a statute that required circuit court clerks to collect a special $5 filing fee from petitioners for dissolution of marriage “to fund shelters and other services for victims of domestic violence in Illinois.” (99 Ill. 2d 444, 447-48.) The fee was collected to enable the Department of Public Aid to carry out the provisions of the Domestic Violence Shelters Act, the same statutory provisions involved here. See 99 Ill. 2d 444, 447-48.
Plaintiffs in Crocker alleged both that the provision conflicted “with the Illinois constitutional right to obtain justice by law freely” (Crocker v. Finley (1984), 99 Ill. 2d 444, 451) and that it violated the due process clause of the Illinois constitution (99 Ill. 2d 444, 456.) We recognized that the central issue in both contentions was whether the legislature could impose such a fee upon a limited group of plaintiffs where the funds collected went into the State Treasury to fund a general welfare program. 99 Ill. 2d 444, 451.
As to the first contention, this court found that the filing fee constituted a tax that unreasonably interfered with the plaintiffs’ access to Illinois courts. (Crocker v. Finley (1984), 99 Ill. 2d 444, 455.) This finding alone would have been sufficient to render the statute invalid. (See 99 Ill. 2d 444, 451-52.) However, this court also discussed the plaintiffs’ second allegation as a separate basis for invalidating the statute. The court recognized that whether the filing fee was imposed under the State‘s police power or the power to tax, it could not be imposed arbitrarily. (99 Ill. 2d 444, 457.) The court noted the issues of due process and equal protection were
Based upon the facts that the services provided by the fees were “available to all adults and their dependents who are the subjects of domestic violence“; that there was “no requirement that recipients of the services be either married or divorced“; and that only those petitioning for dissolution of marriage were required to pay the fee, the statute was found “to be an arbitrary use” (emphasis added) of the State‘s power, “inconsistent with due process guarantees.” Crocker v. Finley (1984), 99 Ill. 2d 444, 456.
The basic terms of the Domestic Violence Shelters Act have not changed since this court decided Crocker. (See 99 Ill. 2d 444, 447-51;
We recognized in Crocker that “a charge having no relation to the services rendered, assessed to provide general revenue rather than compensation, is a tax. [Citations.]” (99 Ill. 2d 444, 452.) Thus, the fee involved in that case was found to be a tax on litigation. The portion
The tax imposed here, as in Crocker, is levied on only a narrow class of people who may or may not become eligible to be recipients of the benefits of the object of the tax. In Crocker, the legislature chose to tax only those persons seeking a dissolution of their marriages. (Crocker v. Finley (1984), 99 Ill. 2d 444, 456Ill. Rev. Stat. 1981, ch. 25, pars. 27.1, 27.2.) In this case, the tax has been placed only upon those single people who apply for marriage licenses. Other classes of people equally eligible to receive the benefits of the Domestic Violence Shelters Act are not assessed such a “fee.” (See Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 53, pars. 35, 73; Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 127, par. 142b4). As noted, in Crocker this court, in addition to considering the question of a tax on litigation, considered the issues of due process and equal protection under the Illinois Constitution and under article IX, section 2, of our constitution, relating to classification for tax purposes. As stated above, we noted that there was a “certain overlapping and intertwining of the issues.” (99 Ill. 2d 444, 457.) Although the same overlapping and intertwining may be found in this case, plaintiffs here have not raised an equal protection issue, and the primary thrust of the arguments of all the parties has centered on due process of
We noted above that much effort has been expended in this case in an attempt to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between marriage and domestic violence. The purpose was to establish a rational basis for imposing the tax upon the limited class of persons who are taxed under the statute in question and to establish a rational relation between the class taxed and the object of the legislation. In Crocker those seeking to uphold the tax likewise contended that there was a reasonable relation between the taxed class and the legislative purpose. (Crocker v. Finley (1984), 99 Ill. 2d 444, 45599 Ill. 2d 444, 457.) The court stated that the relationship asserted is simply too remote. (99 Ill. 2d 444, 455Crocker was controlling.
As in Crocker, we consider the relationship between the purchase of the marriage license and domestic violence to be too remote to satisfy the rational-relation test of due process. This court has discussed the rational-relation test in different ways, all of which focus on essentially the same elements. In considering the reasonableness of a classification from a due process point of view, under either the police power or the taxing power of the State, “it must appear that the particular classification is based upon some real and substantial difference in kind, situation or circumstance in the persons or objects on which the classification rests, and which bears a rational relation to the evil to be remedied and
If the relation between the procurement of a marriage license and domestic violence were found to be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of due process, then, as noted in Crocker (99 Ill. 2d 444, 456), countless other social welfare programs would qualify for monies obtained by imposing a similar tax on those who apply for marriage license. Using the same cause-and-effect test that defendants would have us apply to the relation between marriage and domestic violence, other worthy social problems can be found that are just as closely and reasonably related to marriage as is domestic violence, if
We have addressed the due process question only on the rational-relation basis. That was the basis of the trial court‘s holding and the primary thrust of the arguments in this court. However, plaintiffs have also urged that the “strict scrutiny” test be applied. Freedom to marry has been recognized as a fundamental right. In Loving v. Virginia (1967), 388 U.S. 1, 12, 18 L. Ed. 2d 1010, 1018, 87 S. Ct. 1817, 1824, the court held that marriage is one of the basic civil rights of man, fundamental to our very existence. (See also Boddie v. Connecticut (1971), 401 U.S. 371, 28 L. Ed. 2d 113, 91 S. Ct. 780.) Although marriage is a fundamental right, every regulation relating to the prerequisites for marriage is not necessarily subjected to the “strict scrutiny” test applicable to fundamental rights. Reasonable regulations that do not significantly interfere with decisions to enter into the marital relationship may be imposed. Zablocki v. Redhail (1978), 434 U.S. 374, 386, 54 L. Ed. 2d 618, 631, 98 S. Ct. 673, 681; Califano v. Jobst (1977), 434 U.S. 47, 54, 54 L. Ed. 2d 228, 235, 98 S. Ct. 95, 99; Moran v.
Here, however, we are not dealing with an attempt to impose reasonable regulations upon those who desire to enter into the marriage contract. Nor are we concerned with a general State regulation or tax. Instead, by the statute in question the legislature has singled out marriage as a special object of taxation. In Minneapolis Star & Tribune Co. v. Minnesota Commissioner of Revenue (1983), 460 U.S. 575, 75 L. Ed. 2d 295, 103 S. Ct. 1365, the Supreme Court found that a special tax which singled out the press as an object of taxation could not be countenanced unless the State showed a counterbalancing interest of compelling importance it could not achieve without the differential taxation. (460 U.S. 575, 585, 75 L. Ed. 2d 295, 305, 103 S. Ct. 1365, 1372.) We conclude that the same rationale must be applied to our case.
Here the imposition of the special tax upon the issuance of a marriage license imposes a direct impediment to the exercise of the fundamental right to marry and must be subjected to the heightened test of strict scrutiny and not to the lesser rational-relation test. When a statutory classification significantly interferes with the exercise of a fundamental right, it cannot be upheld unless it is supported by sufficiently important State interests and is closely tailored to effectuate only those interests. (Zablocki v. Redhail (1978), 434 U.S. 374, 388, 54 L. Ed. 2d 618, 631, 98 S. Ct. 673, 682.) The classification in this case does not meet the strict-scrutiny test.
It may be argued that the amount of the tax imposed by the Act in question is nominal and does not therefore impose a significant interference with the fundamental right to marry. True, the tax in question is only $10. However, as noted earlier, the legislature has now increased the tax on marriage licenses to $25. Once it is conceded that the State has the power to impose a spe-
Judgment affirmed.
JUSTICE SIMON took no part in this case, having withdrawn therefrom.
JUSTICE MILLER, dissenting:
Because I believe that the imposition of a $40 marriage license fee does not significantly interfere with a decision as important as whether to marry and that the legislature, in enacting the statute in question, could have found a reasonable relationship between the purposes of the Act and the means and the classification used to achieve those purposes, I dissent from the majority opinion.
A. Strict-Scrutiny Analysis
Although marriage undoubtedly is a fundamental right (see Loving v. Virginia (1967), 388 U.S. 1, 18 L. Ed. 2d 1010, 87 S. Ct. 1817), not every restriction on marriage is subject to strict-scrutiny analysis. “[R]easonable regulations that do not significantly interfere with decisions to enter into the marital relationship” may be imposed without rigorous scrutiny by the courts. (Zablocki v. Redhail (1978), 434 U.S. 374, 386, 54 L. Ed. 2d 618, 631, 98 S. Ct. 673, 681; Moran v. Beyer (7th Cir. 1984), 734 F.2d 1245, 1246-47.) I do not believe that a State‘s decision to impose a $40 fee on marriage licenses for the purpose, in part, of funding the Domestic Violence Shelter and Service Fund (
Plaintiffs here do not allege that their decision to marry, or that of anyone else, was affected by the license fee. Rather, plaintiffs challenge only the use for which the fee was designated by statute. In contemplating marriage, few people consider how the State will appropriate their marriage license fee as a factor in their marriage decision. Certainly, a person‘s disagreement with how marriage license funds are to be disbursed by the State is not such a significant factor in the marriage decision as to constitute a direct impediment on the right to marry.
Although, as the majority points out, the power to tax is the power to destroy (M‘Culloch v. Maryland (1819), 17 U.S. (4 Wheat.) 316, 428, 4 L. Ed. 579, 607), mere possession by the State of the power to tax marriage licenses does not, of itself, constitute an impediment to the right to marry. Rather, it is the exercise of
B. Rational-Relationship Standard
The majority concludes that no rational relationship exists between the marriage license fee and any legitimate legislative purpose, and that the tax violates principles of due process. I believe that plaintiffs’ challenge to the statute invokes principles of equal protection separate from their due process claims. Nevertheless, for the reasons which follow, I would uphold the funding provisions of the Domestic Violence Shelters Act against both the due process and equal protection challenges to the statute.
1. Due Process
The requirements of due process are met if a law bears a reasonable relationship to a proper legislative purpose and is not arbitrary nor discriminatory. (Kidd v. Industrial Com. (1981), 85 Ill. 2d 534; Illinois Gamefowl Breeders Association v. Block (1979), 75 Ill. 2d 443, 454.) The majority finds that imposing a tax on marriage licenses does not bear a reasonable relationship to a legitimate public interest, because the relationship between domestic violence and the procurement of marriage licenses was not conclusively established.
“[T]here is no requirement under the Due Process Clause that the amount of general revenue taxes collected from a particular activity must be reasonably related to the value of the services provided ***:
‘Nothing is more familiar in taxation than the imposition of a tax upon a class or upon individuals who enjoy no direct benefit from its expenditure, and who are not responsible for the condition to be remedied.
A tax is not an assessment of benefits. It is, as we have said, a means of distributing the burden of the cost of government.’ ”
(Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Montana (1981), 453 U.S. 609, 620, 69 L. Ed. 2d 884, 897, 101 S. Ct. 2946, 2955, quoting Carmichael v. Southern Coal & Coke Co. (1937), 301 U.S. 495, 521-22, 81 L. Ed. 1245, 1260-61, 57 S. Ct. 868, 878.) This court has previously upheld tax statutes against constitutional attack where those who pay the tax are not the only beneficiaries of the tax revenues. See Titus v. Texas Co. (1973), 55 Ill. 2d 437 (statute upheld which taxed only gasoline-powered boats, although the tax proceeds benefited owners of sailboats and diesel-powered boats as well).
Under due process principles, the challenged law, rather than the burdened classification, must bear a reasonable relationship to a legitimate public interest, and the means adopted must be a reasonable manner of ac-
I find that the funding provisions of the Domestic Violence Shelters Act do not violate constitutional due process proscriptions.
2. Equal Protection
Under both the Federal and State constitutions, laws may treat differently persons who appear to be similarly situated if the legislative classification bears a rational relationship to a legitimate legislative purpose. (Clements v. Fashing (1982), 457 U.S. 957, 962-63, 73 L. Ed. 2d 508, 515, 102 S. Ct. 2836, 2843; S. Bloom, Inc. v. Mahin (1975), 61 Ill. 2d 70.) In taxation, even more than in other fields, legislatures possess the greatest freedom in classification. (Lehnhausen v. Lake Shore Auto Parts Co. (1973), 410 U.S. 356, 364, 35 L. Ed. 2d 351, 357, 93 S. Ct. 1001, 1006; Doolin v. Korshak (1968), 39 Ill. 2d 521, 528.) Classifications for purposes of taxation bear a strong presumption of constitutionality which can only be overcome “by the most explicit demonstration that a classification is a hostile and oppressive discrimination against particular persons and classes.” (Lehnhausen v. Lake Shore Auto Parts Co. (1973), 410 U.S. 356, 364, 81 L. Ed. 2d 351, 358, 93 S. Ct. 1001, 1006.) States are not required to convince the courts of the correctness of their legislative judgments. Rather, those challenging the legislative judgment must convince the court that the legislative facts upon which the classification is appar-
Equal protection and due process analyses are the same except that equal protection pertains to the basis of differentiation in a legislative classification. (See J. Nowak, R. Rotunda, and J. Young, Constitutional Law 585-86 (1983).) In the present case, the gravamen of plaintiff‘s complaint is that there are no grounds to distinguish or separate those who are taxed under the statute from others who are not taxed, with respect to the domestic-violence shelters program. If persons marrying in Illinois as a class have characteristics different than the general population with respect to domestic violence, then this difference provides a rational basis for the legislative classification challenged here.
The evidence is closely balanced as to whether the percentage of married persons who use the shelter program is higher than the proportion of married persons in the general population. Because of the strong presumption in favor of upholding taxpayer classifications, however, plaintiffs have the burden of showing that married persons as a class bear no greater relationship to the shelter program than does the general population.
There is evidence indicating that the percentage of married persons eligible to use the program is higher than the percentage of married persons in the general population. Defendants’ sociological experts testified, for example, that serious violence occurs more often between family members, especially spouses, than between other individuals in society.
I believe that the legislature could have found that purchasing a marriage license provides a rational ground of classification upon which to base a tax supporting the shelter fund. This view is strengthened by the weighty
I do not find constitutionally prohibitive the fact that only persons presently entering into marriage in Illinois are taxed by the marriage license fee. The legislature may implement its programs one step at a time. (Minnesota v. Clover Leaf Creamery Co. (1981), 449 U.S. 459, 466, 66 L. Ed. 2d 659, 670, 101 S. Ct. 715, 725.) Although only a small percentage of those persons who are now married in Illinois have paid the tax, the class would expand as the number of marriages celebrated after the effective date of the statute increased and, eventually, all of those persons who had been married in Illinois would have paid the tax to fund the shelter.
Finally, I do not believe that the result in Crocker v. Finley (1984), 99 Ill. 2d 444, controls the present case. In Crocker, the fee imposed on those seeking a divorce was found to be arbitrary. Unlike the present case, no evidence was presented in Crocker to establish a connection between those seeking a divorce and the incidence of domestic violence. It is difficult to equate those who are terminating the marital relationship with those who are entering into the relationship for purposes of analyzing the reasonable relationship between the marital state and domestic violence. In contrast to Crocker, evidence was adduced here to establish that the classification of those taxed was not arbitrary, which, taken with the presumption in favor of the classification, is enough to validate the classification.
For the reasons stated, I believe that the funding provisions of the Domestic Violence Shelters Act violate neither the due process nor the equal protection guarantees of the United States and Illinois constitutions. I would, therefore, uphold the statute against constitutional attack.
JUSTICE GOLDENHERSH joins in this dissent.