Opinion ID: 4279187
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: Plaintiffs are nine anonymous children, seven of their anonymous parents, and twentyfour named individuals who identify as Atheist and/or Humanist (or otherwise profess disbelief No. 16-4345 New Doe Child #1, et al. v. Congress of the United States, et al. Page 3 in a God or Gods); one Jewish individual; and two organizations whose members identify as Atheist, Michigan Atheists and Northern Ohio Freethought Society. Broadly speaking, Plaintiffs’ First Amended Complaint (Complaint) alleges that the inscription of the Motto “In God We Trust” on U.S. currency, as required by 31 U.S.C. § 5112(d)(1) (coins) and § 5114(b) (bills), violates their individual rights under RFRA and various constitutional provisions. Plaintiffs allege that the Motto’s inscription on U.S. currency places a substantial burden on their religious exercise in violation of RFRA in three primary ways. The Motto’s inscription on the currency allegedly causes Plaintiffs to: (1) “personally bear a religious message that is the antithesis of what they consider to be religious truth”; (2) affirm as true a statement they believe to be false (both that God exists and that “we” as Americans trust in God) when “their religious ideologies mandate that they act with honesty”; and (3) “proselytize for a religious claim that is completely contrary to their personal religious opinions.” Most of the allegations state that Plaintiffs object to carrying, affirming, and proselytizing a message whose content contradicts their religious beliefs, but some allegations assert that Plaintiffs’ religious beliefs specifically forbid the very acts of carrying, affirming, or proselytizing the Motto. The single Jewish Plaintiff alleges that it is sinful for him to participate in an activity that involves the superfluous printing of God’s name on secular documents and that leads to the destruction of that printed name (when currency is destroyed). Plaintiffs allege that carrying and transacting with U.S. coins and bills is often necessary to participate in everyday commerce. By forcing Plaintiffs to choose between not using cash and violating their religious beliefs, Plaintiffs allege, the Government has substantially burdened their religious exercise without a compelling interest as required by RFRA. Plaintiffs’ Free Exercise claim has a similar basis, while further alleging that the challenged statutes are impermissibly “aimed at the promotion or restriction of religious beliefs.” Plaintiffs provide sixty pages of allegations regarding the history of the Motto and its placement on money, which allegedly demonstrate the Government’s consistent, longstanding intent to promote Christian monotheism by including the Motto on the currency. Plaintiffs’ Free Speech claim alleges that the Government intentionally compels Plaintiffs to proselytize when they pass currency to others. Finally, Plaintiffs allege that the Government’s inscription of the Motto on No. 16-4345 New Doe Child #1, et al. v. Congress of the United States, et al. Page 4 the national currency denies equal dignity to Plaintiffs’ religious views, contributing to cultural stigma, alienation, and denigration of their views in violation of the Equal Protection component of the Fourteenth Amendment, as incorporated by the Fifth Amendment. In January 2016, Plaintiffs initiated this lawsuit against Congress, the United States, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Principal Deputy Director of the Mint, and the Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Plaintiffs later voluntarily dismissed Congress. Plaintiffs asked the court to declare that 31 U.S.C. §§ 5112(d)(1) and 5114(b) violate RFRA and the Constitution and to permanently enjoin Defendants from producing currency inscribed with “In God We Trust.” The district court dismissed all of Plaintiffs’ claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). It analyzed the RFRA and Free Exercise claims together and concluded that Plaintiffs had not alleged a substantial burden on their religious exercise. Plaintiffs could avoid cash by using credit cards and checks. The court concluded that cash-only transactions did not compel Plaintiffs to proselytize a message that violates their religious beliefs, analogizing to a Supreme Court case that suggested the Motto’s inclusion on currency was not compelled speech. See Wooley v. Maynard, 430 U.S. 705, 717 n.5 (1977). The court dismissed Plaintiffs’ Free Speech claim for the same reason, again relying on Wooley. Finally, the court dismissed Plaintiffs’ Equal Protection claim because it concluded that the challenged statutes do not treat different classes of people disparately. Plaintiffs timely appealed.