Federal Tax Claim Should Not Be Heard By Ecclesiastical Court

In United States v. Augustine, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40792 (D MN, March 26, 2012), a Minnesota federal district court adopted a magistrate's recommendation (2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40769, March 2, 2012) and denied taxpayer defendants' motion to remove the case to the "Ecclesiastical Court of Justice."  The court reasoned:

Here ... the Court is not presented with disputes over church polity or church administration. Instead, this case is a suit brought by the United States to obtain payment of taxes from the Augustines. This determination in no way involves any question of church doctrine or hierarchy. Therefore, the First Amendment does not require that the United States' claims against the Augustines be heard in an ecclesiastical court.