CHAPTER FOUR JUDICIAL INTERPRETATIONS

EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES l Understand the following about judicial interpretations: The different types of tax cases Their level of authority How they are located How to examine them How to determine their validity How they are cited

TYPES OF JUDICIAL INTERPRETATIONS Tax Court District Court U.S. Court of Federal Claims Circuit Court of Appeals Supreme Court Federal Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals

Judicial Sources - Primary Sources l Findings have precedential value l Trial courts - Tax Court (do not pay the deficiency), District Court, U.S. Court of Federal Claims (pay first, sue for refund), Small Cases Division l Reg. Tax Law Cases v. Memo Decisions l Appeals - Regional Circuit, Federal uphold, modify, reverse, vacate and remand l U.S. Supreme Court– certiorari needed l All courts must follow SC decisions, not the case for circuits

THE AUTHORITY OF JUDICIAL INTERPRETATIONS l Doctrine of precedential authority or stare decisis l The Golsen Rule: follow appellate court rulings for appropriate district.

Factors to Consider in Determining Authority l Level of authority: which court issued decision l Jurisdiction of the court l Factual similarity l Code Section at issue: has code changed? l Logic of analysis

Structure of a Case l Case title l Housekeeping notations l Attorneys involved l Description of the facts l Identification of the key issues l Court’s opinion: focus here on reasoning and holding

Briefing a Case l Case name and cite l Case facts l Issue before the court l Court’s conclusion l Court’s reasoning l Go Over Common Terms: pg

How to Access Case Law l Online reference Service / Secondary Sources / l Official Reporters l See List on Page l Unofficial Reporters United States Tax Cases (CCH) American Federal Tax Reporter (RIA)

Citing Cases l Case name, use of Id. And Supra l Volume of reporter l Abbreviation of reporter name l Page/paragraph when case begins – chart on l Court and year of decision

Citing a Tax Court Case l Regular Decision Lucky Duck, 80 TC 100 (1999) l Memo Decision Lucky Duck, 75 TCM 200 (1999) Lucky Duck, 1999 RIA Memo TC ¶99,500 (1999)

Citing a Non-Tax Court Case l USTC Duck v. Commissioner, 99-1 USTC 100 (CA 7) l AFTR Duck v. Commissioner, 75 AFTR (1999)

Sources of Case Texts l Print/Paper l CD-ROM l Modem l Web

Confirming the Reliability of a Case l Danger of being reversed or overruled l The Citator Organized by taxpayers last name. List in alphabetical order Same name may have three courts that heard cases l Examples on Page