The United States Supreme Court has long held that nervousness, evasive behavior, or headlong flight, are individual factors in determining reasonable suspicion.
Read MoreAfter several House Republicans called for a vote to impeach Internal Revenue Service commissioner John Koskinen last week, a formal impeachment hearing before the House Judiciary Committee will begin on Wednesday.
Read MoreThe presumption of innocence—that a person is considered innocent unless proven guilty—is a legal right of an accused in a criminal trial. As such, the burden is always on the prosecution to collect and present evidence sufficient to convince a jury that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Read MoreA California law that went into effect in January improves access to the ballot for voters with disabilities. The law requires that all Californians be presumed competent to vote regardless of any disabilities.
Read MoreIn the current political climate, with the two vibrant personalities of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton clashing on every issue, it would be easy for minor political parties to be forgotten. In spite of this, the Green Party has pushed their way into the national spotlight.
Read MoreTax professionals are entrusted with our most private financial and identifying data. It is disconcerting, though not surprising, that tax professionals are being increasingly targeted by identity thieves who are not only sophisticated but also part of organized syndicates.
Read MoreThe First Amendment is often cited and frequently misunderstood. More specifically the free speech clause of the same is raised as some sort of supernatural shield against all adverse actions to the speaker. Take for instance the cases of U.S. women’s soccer team goalkeeper Hope Solo and the NFL’s Colin Kaepernick.
Read MoreThe Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent astronomical $22 million award to a whistleblower[1] raises the question: will these awards continue to grow?
Read MoreIn June of 2015, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen told the Senate Finance Committee that 2.7 million taxpayers had their identities stolen, and pledged to make the tax filing system more secure by 2016.[1] Fast forward to August of 2016, also known as present day, and the problem has clearly been fixed.
Read MorePerjury prosecutions could be on the rise after creation of a first-of-its-kind “perjury investigations unit” in California. One prosecutor is assigned to the unit, created by the Lake County district attorney in response to 20 years served in prison by a wrongfully-convicted defendant as a result of perjured testimony in his case.
Read MoreActs of violence have long been publicized in the media, and some speculate that exposure to violence in the media is to blame for rise in violence. For those who see that correlation, social media platforms, such as Twitter and Facebook, are to blame.
Read MoreTax returns and return information have extensive privacy protection under federal law.[1] The Internal Revenue Code states that all returns are confidential and cannot be disclosed by government officials.
Read MoreYou can mark Tuesday August 16, 2016 on your calendar. That date, some believe, was be the beginning of the end of “federal prosecutions of state medical marijuana dispensary operators, growing and patients.”
Read MoreThe Vermont Supreme Court recently threw out charges against a state prison inmate accused of practicing law as a “jailhouse lawyer.”
Read MoreFirst auditing Donald Trump, now investigating Hillary Clinton, it seems the IRS can’t help but get involved in this year’s presidential election.
Read MoreIf you were to ask someone a question, and they were to avoid answering it, how many times do you think you’d repeat yourself? Once more? Maybe twice more?
Read MoreIn a lengthy and unanimous ruling from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge David Sentelle scathingly wrote that as the IRS “cannot defend its discriminatory conduct on the merits.”
Read MoreOne of the questions asked by U.S. taxpayers regarding virtual currency is how gains or losses are treated and thus taxed by the IRS. While the IRS did issue Notice 2014-21 to address 16 frequently asked questions, the Notice only touches upon some of the realities of Bitcoin transactions (e.g., sales or exchanges).
Read MoreFederal agencies frequently deny Freedom of Information Act requests because of various exemptions that protect certain information from disclosure to the public.[1] These exemptions include:
Read MoreIn 2013, a law in North Carolina was enacted that required only North Carolinians with certain types of photo IDs to vote, limited early voting, eliminated same-day registration, ended out-of-precinct voting, and prohibited pre-registration of young voters.
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