Thursday, August 12, 2004

Leandra Lederman (George Mason) has filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court in the companion Ballard (No. 03-184) and Kanter (03-1034) cases. Here is the summary of her argument:

One of the questions in this case is whether the Tax Court effectively can shield from appellate review the work of its Special Trial Judges in the largest cases over which those judges preside, cases heard under Tax Court Rule 183. Internal Revenue Code § 7482(a) provides, in relevant part, that “[t]he United States Courts of Appeals . . . shall have exclusive jurisdiction to review the decisions of the Tax Court . . . in the same manner and to the same extent as decisions of the district courts in civil actions tried without a jury . . . .” I.R.C. § 7482(a)(1). The Tax Court’s current practice of keeping the reports of Special Trial Judges in Rule 183 cases out of the record on appeal violates this statute because it renders the United States Courts of Appeals incapable of reviewing Tax Court decisions “to the same extent” as bench trials in the district courts.

Leandra is the co-author of Tax Controversies: Practice and Procedure (LexisNexis, 2d ed. 2002 & 2004 Supp.) (with Stephen Mazza (Kansas)). For Leandra’s commentary on TaxProf Blog when the Supreme Court granted certiorari in the cases, see here.