Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey v. Steinhauser

Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey v. Steinhauser, 234 U.S. 640 (1914), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that when someone joins an ecclesiastical order, subject to individual state law, their income from copyright may be dedicated to that order's common fund as much as any other income or form of property. This does not violate any part of the Constitution if the member may withdraw from the order at any time.^[1]

Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey v. Steinhauser
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued March 11, 1914 Decided June 22, 1914
Full case name	Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey v. Steinhauser
Citations	234 U.S. 640 (more) 34 S. Ct. 932; 58 L. Ed. 1512
Case history
Prior	194 F. 289 (8th Cir. 1912)
Holding
When someone joins an ecclesiastical order, subject to individual state law, their income from copyright may be dedicated to that order's common fund as much as any other income or form of property. This does not violate any part of the Constitution if the member may withdraw from the order at any time.
Court membership
Chief Justice Edward D. White Associate Justices Joseph McKenna · Oliver W. Holmes Jr. William R. Day · Horace H. Lurton Charles E. Hughes · Willis Van Devanter Joseph R. Lamar · Mahlon Pitney
Case opinion
Majority	Hughes, joined by a unanimous court