Justice Clarence Thomas gave Rob Natelson his second Supreme Court citation this year, referring to Rob’s article on the Constitution’s use of words to describe financial exactions: “tax,” “duty,” “excise,” and the like. The citation came in Justice Thomas’s dissent in Learning Resources v. Trump.
The article cited was the first to fully examine how the Constitution uses financial terms. Among other contributions, it dispelled the false belief that levies on income and wealth were indirect, rather than direct taxes. (The Constitution makes it harder to impose direct taxes.)
Supreme Court justices have relied on Rob’s research 41 times since 2013, one of the highest numbers of any legal scholar. Justice Thomas has cited Rob the most, but Chief Justice Roberts, and Justice Alito, and the late Justice Scalia also have done so.