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#1
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In the Land of the Free, Court Denies Attorney-Client Privilege
What's the point of even having a trial? Or a constitution? When every right and protection you have can be disregarded in their sole discretion, one really has to wonder how anyone can call it a 'free country' any more. =========================== 04/19/2014 22:14 -0400 By Simon Black via Sovereign Man blog In the Land of the Free, people grow up hearing a lot of things about their freedom. You're told that you live in the freest country on the planet. You're told that other nations 'hate you' for your freedom. And you're told that you have the most open and fair justice system in the world. This justice system is supposedly founded on bedrock principles-- things like a defendant being presumed innocent until proven guilty. The right to due process and an impartial hearing. The right to counsel and attorney-client privilege. Yet each of these core pillars has been systematically dismantled over the years: 1. So that it can operate with impunity outside of the law, the federal government has set up its own secret FISA courts to rubber stamp NSA surveillance. According to data obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, of the nearly 34,000 surveillance requests made to FISA courts in the last 35-years, only ELEVEN have been rejected. Unsurprising given that FISA courts only hear the case from the government's perspective. It is literally a one-sided argument in FISA courts. Hardly an impartial hearing, no? 2. The concept of 'innocent until proven guilty' may officially exist in courts, but administratively it was thrown out long ago. These days there are hundreds of local, state, and federal agencies that can confiscate your assets, levy your bank account, and freeze you out of your life's savings. None of this requires a court order. By the time a case goes to court, you have been deprived of the resources you need to defend yourself. You might technically be presumed innocent, but you have been treated and punished like a criminal from day one. 3. Attorney-Client privilege is a long-standing legal concept which ensures that communication between an attorney and his/her client is completely private. In Upjohn vs. the United States, the Supreme Court itself upheld attorney-client privilege as necessary "to encourage full and frank communication between attorneys and their clients and thereby promote broader public interests in the observance of law. . ." It doesn't matter what you're accused of-- theft. treason. triple homicide. With very limited exceptions, an attorney cannot be compelled to testify against a client, nor can their communications be subpoenaed for evidence. Yet in a United States Tax Court decision announced on Wednesday, the court dismissed attorney client privilege, stating that: "When a person puts into issue his subjective intent in deciding how to comply with the law, he may forfeit the privilege afforded attorney-client communications." http://www.ustaxcourt.gov/InOpHistor...ern.TC.WPD.pdf In other words, if a person works with legal counsel within the confines of the tax code to legitimately minimize the amount of taxes owed, that communication is no longer protected by attorney-client privilege. Furthermore, the ruling states that if the individuals do not submit attorney-client documentation as required, then the court would prohibit them from introducing any evidence to demonstrate their innocence. Unbelievable. While it's true that attorney-client privilege has long been assailed in numerous court cases (especially with regards to tax matters), this decision sets the most dangerous precedent yet. With this ruling, government now has carte blanche to set aside long-standing legal protections and even deny a human being even the chance to defend himself. Naturally, you won't hear a word about this in the mainstream media. But it certainly begs the question, what's the point of even having a trial? Or a constitution? When every right and protection you have can be disregarded in their sole discretion, one really has to wonder how anyone can call it a 'free country' any more. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...ient-privelege |
#2
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house
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In the Land of the Free, Court Denies Attorney-Client Privilege
Go away.
"Elliot Ness" wrote in message ... What's the point of even having a trial? Or a constitution? When every right and protection you have can be disregarded in their sole discretion, one really has to wonder how anyone can call it a 'free country' any more. =========================== 04/19/2014 22:14 -0400 By Simon Black via Sovereign Man blog In the Land of the Free, people grow up hearing a lot of things about their freedom. You're told that you live in the freest country on the planet. You're told that other nations 'hate you' for your freedom. And you're told that you have the most open and fair justice system in the world. This justice system is supposedly founded on bedrock principles-- things like a defendant being presumed innocent until proven guilty. The right to due process and an impartial hearing. The right to counsel and attorney-client privilege. Yet each of these core pillars has been systematically dismantled over the years: 1. So that it can operate with impunity outside of the law, the federal government has set up its own secret FISA courts to rubber stamp NSA surveillance. According to data obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, of the nearly 34,000 surveillance requests made to FISA courts in the last 35-years, only ELEVEN have been rejected. Unsurprising given that FISA courts only hear the case from the government's perspective. It is literally a one-sided argument in FISA courts. Hardly an impartial hearing, no? 2. The concept of 'innocent until proven guilty' may officially exist in courts, but administratively it was thrown out long ago. These days there are hundreds of local, state, and federal agencies that can confiscate your assets, levy your bank account, and freeze you out of your life's savings. None of this requires a court order. By the time a case goes to court, you have been deprived of the resources you need to defend yourself. You might technically be presumed innocent, but you have been treated and punished like a criminal from day one. 3. Attorney-Client privilege is a long-standing legal concept which ensures that communication between an attorney and his/her client is completely private. In Upjohn vs. the United States, the Supreme Court itself upheld attorney-client privilege as necessary "to encourage full and frank communication between attorneys and their clients and thereby promote broader public interests in the observance of law. . ." It doesn't matter what you're accused of-- theft. treason. triple homicide. With very limited exceptions, an attorney cannot be compelled to testify against a client, nor can their communications be subpoenaed for evidence. Yet in a United States Tax Court decision announced on Wednesday, the court dismissed attorney client privilege, stating that: "When a person puts into issue his subjective intent in deciding how to comply with the law, he may forfeit the privilege afforded attorney-client communications." http://www.ustaxcourt.gov/InOpHistor...ern.TC.WPD.pdf In other words, if a person works with legal counsel within the confines of the tax code to legitimately minimize the amount of taxes owed, that communication is no longer protected by attorney-client privilege. Furthermore, the ruling states that if the individuals do not submit attorney-client documentation as required, then the court would prohibit them from introducing any evidence to demonstrate their innocence. Unbelievable. While it's true that attorney-client privilege has long been assailed in numerous court cases (especially with regards to tax matters), this decision sets the most dangerous precedent yet. With this ruling, government now has carte blanche to set aside long-standing legal protections and even deny a human being even the chance to defend himself. Naturally, you won't hear a word about this in the mainstream media. But it certainly begs the question, what's the point of even having a trial? Or a constitution? When every right and protection you have can be disregarded in their sole discretion, one really has to wonder how anyone can call it a 'free country' any more. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...ient-privelege |
#3
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In the Land of the Free, Court Denies Attorney-Client Privilege
On Sunday, April 20, 2014 10:30:31 AM UTC-4, Elliot Ness wrote:
It doesn't matter what you're accused of-- theft. treason. triple homicide. With very limited exceptions, an attorney cannot be compelled to testify against a client, nor can their communications be subpoenaed for evidence. You do acknowledge above that there are limited exceptions to attorney-client privelege. Yet in a United States Tax Court decision announced on Wednesday, the court dismissed attorney client privilege, stating that: "When a person puts into issue his subjective intent in deciding how to comply with the law, he may forfeit the privilege afforded attorney-client communications." http://www.ustaxcourt.gov/InOpHistor...ern.TC.WPD.pdf And there you have an example of such an exception. It doesn't seem so unreasonable to me. In other words, if a person works with legal counsel within the confines of the tax code to legitimately minimize the amount of taxes owed, that communication is no longer protected by attorney-client privilege. Per the ruling, you can't claim attorney client privilege if your claiming that your defense against tax penalties for not paying the correct amount of tax is that you made an honest, good faith attempt to pay the correct amount. If you want to claim that, then it seems somewhat reasonable that professional tax advice you were given is relevant and fair game. And I'd also note that if in fact the tax attorney told you that what you were doing with regard to paying taxes was likely OK, then you'd almost certainly be willing to waive attorney-client privilege on that narrow issue to prove your case. Your attorney simply testifies that they told you what you were doing with regard to the tax issue was valid and you've proven your case. Also, note this isn't a criminal case, it's a civil one. Furthermore, the ruling states that if the individuals do not submit attorney-client documentation as required, then the court would prohibit them from introducing any evidence to demonstrate their innocence. Unbelievable. It doesn't seem so unbelievable to me. What advice one got from a tax attorney is the most relevant and key information as to the person's mind at the time. And the person is arguing that his state of mind was that he believed what he was doing with regard to taxes was kosher. While it's true that attorney-client privilege has long been assailed in numerous court cases (especially with regards to tax matters), this decision sets the most dangerous precedent yet. Yawn.... With this ruling, government now has carte blanche to set aside long-standing legal protections and even deny a human being even the chance to defend himself. Naturally, you won't hear a word about this in the mainstream media. But it certainly begs the question, what's the point of even having a trial? Or a constitution? When every right and protection you have can be disregarded in their sole discretion, one really has to wonder how anyone can call it a 'free country' any more. Good grief. It's a ruling on one very narrow issue in a civil tax penalty case. |
#4
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house
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In the Land of the Free, Court Denies Attorney-Client Privilege
In article ,
Elliot Ness wrote: 1. So that it can operate with impunity outside of the law, the federal government has set up its own secret FISA courts to rubber stamp NSA surveillance. According to data obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, of the nearly 34,000 surveillance requests made to FISA courts in the last 35-years, only ELEVEN have been rejected. Unsurprising given that FISA courts only hear the case from the government's perspective. It is literally a one-sided argument in FISA courts. Hardly an impartial hearing, no? This is such a BS statement, means nothing. First of all, what is the %age of turn downs in the regular courts? Is FISA much worse? Better? As a completely useless n=1 study, for the 9 years I was doing fire investigations, we put in for over 100 a year and only had three turned down, and one of those for about 30 seconds while we corrected a small glitch. Also, I don't know of a single court that lets the person or their attorney in on the issuance of a warrant which is what the sentence appears to be taking umbrage. These days there are hundreds of local, state, and federal agencies that can confiscate your assets, levy your bank account, and freeze you out of your life's savings. None of this requires a court order. Which ones? Yet in a United States Tax Court decision announced on Wednesday, the court dismissed attorney client privilege, stating that: "When a person puts into issue his subjective intent in deciding how to comply with the law, he may forfeit the privilege afforded attorney-client communications." http://www.ustaxcourt.gov/InOpHistor...ern.TC.WPD.pdf In other words, if a person works with legal counsel within the confines of the tax code to legitimately minimize the amount of taxes owed, that communication is no longer protected by attorney-client privilege. ONLY to the extent that a person uses that communication as part of their defense when the legitimacy is not only questioned, but tossed out entirely. You really can't say "I don't owe extra fines related to bad faith because it wasn't bad faith because I relied on my attorney and then not let what the attorney said enter into it. That is well-established and nothing new. "Respondent appears to accept that the opinions constitute attorney-client communications but argues that, under the common law doctrine of implied waiver, the attorney-client privilege is waived when the client places otherwise privileged matters in controversy. Respondent argues that petitioners placed the opinions into controversy by relying on affirmative defenses to the penalties that turn on the partnerships' beliefs or state of mind." The beliefs hinge on what the attorney said in this case. The court also noted: United States v. Bilzerian, 926 F.2d 1285 (2d Cir. 1991), involves an appeal from convictions for financial crimes. The trial court had ruled that, if the defendant testified regarding his good-faith efforts to comply with the securities laws, he would open the door to cross-examination with respect to the basis for his belief regarding the lawfulness of his actions and that such cross- examination would allow inquiry to communications that he had with his attorney While it's true that attorney-client privilege has long been assailed in numerous court cases (especially with regards to tax matters), this decision sets the most dangerous precedent yet. By relying on a line of cases going back over 20 years? With this ruling, government now has carte blanche to set aside long-standing legal protections and even deny a human being even the chance to defend himself. Not according to the ruling. THis is nothing new and even if it might be, this is still predicated on an action of the person. If you say you don't owe penalties because of good faith reliance on legal, etc., then you have to show that you did, indeed, rely on this. My guess is that the person worked so hard to protect because counsel told him from the get that he was full of ****. Naturally, you won't hear a word about this in the mainstream media. But it certainly begs the question, what's the point of even having a trial? Or a constitution? When every right and protection you have can be disregarded in their sole discretion, one really has to wonder how anyone can call it a 'free country' any more. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-0...court-denies-a ttorney-client-privelege -- "Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." -- Aaron Levenstein |
#5
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house
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In the Land of the Free, Court Denies Attorney-Client Privilege
Kurt Ullman wrote:
These days there are hundreds of local, state, and federal agencies that can confiscate your assets, levy your bank account, and freeze you out of your life's savings. None of this requires a court order. Which ones? All of them. Apparently by using a widened interpretation of the RICO act. The following is taken from he http://www.mind-trek.com/practicl/aforfeit.htm Which by itelf makes for interesting reading - at least the first few pages. ==================== RICO: Threat or Weapon RICO has become a threat to some groups and a weapon to others. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), passed by Congress in 1970, which was meant to bring big-time, profit motivated crime organizations to their knees, has taken yet another twist. In January, 1994, the Supreme Court widened the scope of RICO by ruling that federal racketeering laws can apply when the motivation is social or political and not just economic. In other words, RICO has now become a threat for those who engage in the national tradition of social or political protest. That decision becomes spine-chilling to those of us who value our freedom of speech and right to association. RICO: WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Is it true that government agencies in every state are profiteering at the expense of innocent third parties by taking advantage of the federal R.I.C.O. laws? RICO is the acronym for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal law passed by Congress in 1970, and is commonly used to describe the legal process by which government agencies take personal property away from individuals. And what can be taken and who are the individuals? ======================= "When a person puts into issue his subjective intent in deciding how to comply with the law, he may forfeit the privilege afforded attorney-client communications." In other words, if a person works with legal counsel within the confines of the tax code to legitimately minimize the amount of taxes owed, that communication is no longer protected by attorney -client privilege. ONLY to the extent that a person uses that communication as part of their defense when the legitimacy is not only questioned, but tossed out entirely. You really can't say "I don't owe extra fines related to bad faith because it wasn't bad faith because I relied on my attorney and then not let what the attorney said enter into it. That is well-established and nothing new. What sort of government or rule of law do you people have where your guilt or innocence (or tax penalty) is in some way based on the state of your "faith" that what you were doing was within the rules, instead of on the facts, as determined by a jury, that you did or didn't follow the rules? |
#6
Posted to alt.home.repair,misc.consumers,misc.consumers.house
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In the Land of the Free, Court Denies Attorney-Client Privilege
In article ,
Elliot Ness wrote: Kurt Ullman wrote: These days there are hundreds of local, state, and federal agencies that can confiscate your assets, levy your bank account, and freeze you out of your life's savings. None of this requires a court order. Which ones? All of them. Apparently by using a widened interpretation of the RICO act. The following is taken from he http://www.mind-trek.com/practicl/aforfeit.htm Which by itelf makes for interesting reading - at least the first few pages. ==================== RICO: Threat or Weapon RICO has become a threat to some groups and a weapon to others. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), passed by Congress in 1970, which was meant to bring big-time, profit motivated crime organizations to their knees, has taken yet another twist. In January, 1994, the Supreme Court widened the scope of RICO by ruling that federal racketeering laws can apply when the motivation is social or political and not just economic. In other words, RICO has now become a threat for those who engage in the national tradition of social or political protest. That decision becomes spine-chilling to those of us who value our freedom of speech and right to association. RICO: WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Is it true that government agencies in every state are profiteering at the expense of innocent third parties by taking advantage of the federal R.I.C.O. laws? RICO is the acronym for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal law passed by Congress in 1970, and is commonly used to describe the legal process by which government agencies take personal property away from individuals. And what can be taken and who are the individuals? ======================= Which is completely unresponsive to the part where you assert that this can be done w/o court involvement. Indeed the RICO Act itself notes: ? 1964. Civil remedies (a) The ***district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction*** to prevent and restrain violations of section 1962 of this chapter by ***issuing appropriate orders***, including, but not limited to: ordering any person to divest himself of any interest, direct or indirect, in any enterprise; imposing reasonable restrictions on the future activities or investments of any person, including, but not limited to, prohibiting any person from engaging in the same type of endeavor as the enterprise engaged in, the activities of which affect interstate or foreign commerce; or ordering dissolution or reorganization of any enterprise, making due provision for the rights of innocent persons. Forfeiture requires court involvement. Heck even the IRS has to get okay: Seizure Warrant 1. Property subject to forfeiture may be seized pursuant to a warrant obtained in the same manner as provided for a search warrant under Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (Fed. R. Crim. P. 41). The AUSA must submit an application for the seizure of particular property, as well as a special agent's sworn affidavit setting forth the facts that provide probable cause for the seizure. 2. A seizure warrant may be issued in any judicial district in which a civil forfeiture action against the property may be filed, and may be executed in any judicial district in which the property is found. In the event that an out-of-district seizure is contemplated, it must involve consultation and coordination with the US Attorney's Office and the field office within the judicial district in which the seizure is to occur. 3. Title 18 USC ?985 requires that civil forfeiture of real property proceed judicially. Except as provided in the statute, the real property that is the subject of a civil forfeiture action cannot be seized before entry of an order of forfeiture. What sort of government or rule of law do you people have where your guilt or innocence (or tax penalty) is in some way based on the state of your "faith" that what you were doing was within the rules, instead of on the facts, as determined by a jury, that you did or didn't follow the rules? Again, hoakum. Guilt or innocence isn't at issue in the instance at hand. This is for additional penalties if you acted in bad faith. You have to first be judged to have been guilty of the underlying offense by a court of law (judge OR jury your choice). Most laws have aggravating or mitigating circumstances that are taken into account during sentencing. This is just one of them. -- "Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." -- Aaron Levenstein |
#7
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In the Land of the Free, Court Denies Attorney-Client Privilege
On Sunday, April 20, 2014 9:00:40 PM UTC-4, Elliot Ness wrote:
Kurt Ullman wrote: These days there are hundreds of local, state, and federal agencies that can confiscate your assets, levy your bank account, and freeze you out of your life's savings. None of this requires a court order. Which ones? All of them. Apparently by using a widened interpretation of the RICO act. The following is taken from he http://www.mind-trek.com/practicl/aforfeit.htm Which by itelf makes for interesting reading - at least the first few pages. ==================== RICO: Threat or Weapon RICO has become a threat to some groups and a weapon to others. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), passed by Congress in 1970, which was meant to bring big-time, profit motivated crime organizations to their knees, has taken yet another twist. In January, 1994, the Supreme Court widened the scope of RICO by ruling that federal racketeering laws can apply when the motivation is social or political and not just economic. In other words, RICO has now become a threat for those who engage in the national tradition of social or political protest. That decision becomes spine-chilling to those of us who value our freedom of speech and right to association. RICO: WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Is it true that government agencies in every state are profiteering at the expense of innocent third parties by taking advantage of the federal R.I.C.O. laws? RICO is the acronym for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal law passed by Congress in 1970, and is commonly used to describe the legal process by which government agencies take personal property away from individuals. And what can be taken and who are the individuals? ======================= "When a person puts into issue his subjective intent in deciding how to comply with the law, he may forfeit the privilege afforded attorney-client communications." In other words, if a person works with legal counsel within the confines of the tax code to legitimately minimize the amount of taxes owed, that communication is no longer protected by attorney -client privilege. ONLY to the extent that a person uses that communication as part of their defense when the legitimacy is not only questioned, but tossed out entirely. You really can't say "I don't owe extra fines related to bad faith because it wasn't bad faith because I relied on my attorney and then not let what the attorney said enter into it. That is well-established and nothing new. What sort of government or rule of law do you people have where your guilt or innocence (or tax penalty) is in some way based on the state of your "faith" that what you were doing was within the rules, instead of on the facts, as determined by a jury, that you did or didn't follow the rules? What sort? Seems like a very reasonable law to me. The tax code is complex. The law apparently says that you can avoid paying penalties on underpayment of taxes if you can show that what you did was based on a legitimate belief that your interpretation and application of the tax law and rules was correct. Apparently all you have to show is that in the case of whatever is at issue, you believed that your application of the law/rule was 50% or more likely to be correct. So, if there was something where you were not sure, but thought it likely OK to take a deduction for example, you don't owe a penalty. That seems very reasonable and if the law didn't allow it, the same anti-govt wing nuts would be bitching about that, and they would have a good point. So, if you want to make a case out of not paying the penalty, then of course what advice you were given before you filed the return is fair gaime. And I agree with Kurt. If the attorney had told the client that the deduction, application of the law, whatever was legitimate, then any sane person would just agree to waive attorney- client privilege on that one narrow issue. And it would instantly prove their case. Almost certainly they were told it was not legitimate. And the state of someone's mind going in to something isn't unique to this tax code issue, either. There are criminal statutes that involve whether you "knowingly", "purposefully", "intended", etc to do something comes into play. |
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