Kostelanetz attorneys Andy Weiner, Todd Welty, and Gray Proctor filed an amicus brief on behalf of the Center for Taxpayer Rights (CTR) and the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) in the U.S. Supreme Court.
The CTR and NTU filed the joint amicus brief in support of the petitioners in Hirsch v. United States Tax Court. The petitioners filed a petition for mandamus in the Eleventh Circuit, demanding a jury trial in the wake of the 2024 landmark decision SEC v. Jarkesy, which granted SEC enforcement targets a Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial prior to the imposition of civil penalties.
After Jarkesy, taxpayers have begun to question the right to a jury trial for civil tax penalties. The Tax Court, most notably in Silver Moss Properties, LLC v. Commissioner, has rejected the argument that the imposition of tax penalties triggers a taxpayer’s right to a jury trial.
The brief addresses the weaknesses in the Tax Court's reasoning in Silver Moss and urges the Supreme Court to settle and clarify the applicability of the Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial to tax penalties. With hundreds of thousands of taxpayers affected by federal tax penalties every year, the need for clarification is urgent.
You can view the amicus brief here.
About Gray
Gray is an experienced and accomplished appellate advocate who represents clients facing both civil and criminal penalties. He also maintains a trial support practice focusing on dispositive motions and other key issues upon which an appeal might follow.
About Andy
Andy focuses his practice on tax controversies, both civil and criminal, at all stages of the administrative and judicial process. A former U.S. Department of Justice attorney, he has argued approximately 50 tax cases in the U.S. courts of appeals and litigated cases in the Court of Federal Claims. He is a frequent writer and speaker on tax issues and a regent of the American College of Tax Counsel.
About Todd
Todd has extensive experience in resolving civil tax matters at all stages of a tax dispute, including IRS examinations, fast-track appeals, administrative appeals, post-appeals mediation and, if necessary, litigation in the U.S. Tax Court, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. district courts, and U.S. Courts of Appeal.
