tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14953361339373609152024-03-17T15:33:01.965-04:00DOJ Tax Division Alumni BlogThis blog is for news and other items of interest to DOJ Tax Division Alumni. Comments are welcome, but comments are being moderated to prevent inappropriate comments. Alumni aware of items of potential interest to all Alumni should email them to Jack Townsend (jack@tjtaxlaw.com).Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.comBlogger252125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-72527661482936326032024-03-17T15:32:00.003-04:002024-03-17T15:32:25.121-04:00Faust Frank Rossi Died 3/6/24 (3/17/24)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Faust Frank Rossi died on 3/6/24. His obituary is </span><a href="https://www.pumphreyfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Faust-Frank-Rossi?obId=30952686#/obituaryInfo" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.
It is quite a record of accomplishment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The obit described his time at DOJ Tax as follows:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He graduated from Cornell Law School in 1960 and began his
legal career as a trial attorney with the United States Department of Justice
Honors Program in Washington, DC.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was also interested in his teaching at Cornell Law School
starting in the 1960s. Here is an excerpt:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 1966, Faust joined the faculty of Cornell Law School
where he taught Evidence, Civil Procedure, and Trial Advocacy. He was an
enormously popular and energetic teacher. </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">He
brought the law to life for generations of students with memorable
hypotheticals populated by purported denizens of his “old neighborhood,” Spano,
Mrs. Garibaldi, Delvecchio, Madge, Yukel, and baby Grutz.</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> He was a national
winner of the Roscoe Pound Jacobson Award for Excellence in Teaching Trial
Advocacy. It is estimated that Faust taught more students at Cornell Law School
than any other professor in its 137-year history. He also served as the
Associate Academic Dean. When he retired from Cornell Law School in 2013, The
School honored Faust’s career by naming one of its annual moot court
competitions The Faust F. Rossi Moot Court Competition.</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote>Throughout his career, Faust authored and co-authored
numerous books including Expert Witnesses, Evidence for the Trial Lawyer, and
The New York Evidence Handbook. In 2016, Faust authored with Professor Glenn C.
Altschuler, the acclaimed book Ten Great American Trials: Lessons in Advocacy.
Faust gave hundreds of Continuing Legal Education lectures to lawyers and
judges in the United States and Europe. He reached over a hundred thousand law
students with his popular bar review lectures and nationally distributed
"Law School Legends" audio and video series on Evidence. Faust was a
recurring visiting professor at the Central European University in Budapest and
a regular faculty member in the joint Cornell/Paris 1 Summer Institute of
International and Comparative Law. During his career he was a visiting law
professor at Oxford University, the University of Siena, New York University,
Emory University, University of San Diego, and Georgetown University. He also
taught for many years at the annual National Institute for Trial Advocacy.</blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The services are:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></o:p></p><blockquote><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">F</span></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">riends will be received at Pumphrey’s Bethesda-Chevy Chase
Funeral Home, 7557 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814 on Tuesday, March 19th
from 6pm – 8pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at St. Jane Frances de
Chantal Catholic Church, 9701 Old Georgetown Rd, Bethesda, MD 20814 on
Wednesday, March 20th at 11:00am. A livestream link will be available.
Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, 13801 Georgia Ave., Silver
Spring, MD 20906.</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u style="font-family: inherit;">JAT Note</u><span style="font-family: inherit;">: I bold-faced the excerpt above to raise the
question (I don’t know the answer) of whether Rossi’s teaching style was similar
to the style of Jean Shepard—populated with such mythical or not characters as Ralphie Parker
and others that we grew up loving.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-11143980335450052662024-02-27T08:33:00.003-05:002024-02-27T08:34:36.638-05:00 Death of Joe Giannullo 1/23/24 (2/27/24)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Joseph Giannullo (Joe) died on January 23, 2024. The obit is </span><a href="https://obits.nj.com/us/obituaries/jerseyjournal/name/joseph-giannullo-obituary?id=54302566" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.
I am told that Joe was in CES from about 1991 to 2021. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-91284102002829434912024-02-23T08:44:00.006-05:002024-02-25T11:22:06.192-05:00 Death of Larry Jones on 2/19/24 (2/23/24)<p>Larry Jones (Lawrence Ray Jones, Jr.) died on 2/19/24. His
obituary is <a href="https://www.restlandfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Lawrence-Jones-25/#!/Obituary">here</a>; another Dallas Morning News obituary is <a href="https://obits.dallasnews.com/us/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/name/lawrence-jones-obituary?id=54464692">here</a>.. He served as a Trial Attorney in DOJ Tax Refund 2 (John Murray’s section)
from 1969 through 1977. Most of that time he served in the Dallas office.</p><p>The visitation and funeral services are March 4 at 12:30 pm and 1:00 pm (Central time) at St Thomas Aquinas Catholic church, 6306 Kenwood Avenue, Dallas TX 75214.</p><div>I did not know Larry during the time we overlapped at DOJ Tax because he was in Dallas and I was in Washington. But I heard a lot about Larry, particularly after I moved to Refund 2. Larry and I then became friends from the time he left
DOJ Tax in 1977 when we began working at the same firm in Houston. We then became
law partners from the early 1990s until a few years ago. He was a great lawyer and great friend.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Added 2/25/24 11:20am:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>In the second obit linked above, Larry is quoted as often saying "while I do not have much hair, it is not gray".</div><div><br /></div><div>The Larry quote I (JAT) fondly remember along that line is: “Not everybody can be naturally bald.” </div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-35404615676682011372024-02-13T12:04:00.005-05:002024-02-13T12:07:26.277-05:00Death of Sander (Sandy) Shapiro (2/13/24)<p>Sander (Sandy) Shapiro’s obituary is <a href="https://www.statesman.com/obituaries/paco0720496">here</a>. The obituary
does not state a date of death, but the obituary is dated February 12,
2024. I will post the date of death when I get it.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>It is a longer obituary, a good read about Sandy. Some excerpts
related to the Tax Division.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">When Sandy was in law school, he had a tax professor who
inspired him, so when he got home he wrote to the Internal Revenue Service to
apply for a job. He flew to Washington, D.C. for an interview, and while there,
met a man (who later became a treasured friend) who discouraged him from going
to the IRS and instead encouraged him to apply to the Tax Division of the
Department of Justice. Sandy credited this suggestion as the best advice he
ever received.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">* * * He worked with very fine, experienced tax lawyers and
a bunch of young, enthusiastic newly minted lawyers eager to learn. Sandy then
moved to a job on the Tax Court. When they were ready to start a family, Sandy
and Lottie moved to Austin, a town Sandy had loved when in law school there, to
be closer to their families. Sandy got a job with Clark, Thomas, Harris, Denius
and Winters (later Clark, Thomas, Winters and Shapiro), and was the first tax
lawyer in Austin. Decades later, he and his closest colleagues left Clark
Thomas to form a new firm, Shapiro, Edens and Cook. </p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A Texas State Bar interview with Sandy is <a href="https://www.texastaxsection.org/DrawLegalLegendVideos.aspx?VideoID=43">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-83624720172531071742024-02-07T14:30:00.002-05:002024-02-07T14:33:18.920-05:00DOJ Tax Alumni Directory (2/7/24)<p>I have just created new alumni directory documents. Please see the page to the right titled "DOJ Tax Alumni Directory (4/9/23)" <a href="https://dojtaxalumni.blogspot.com/p/doj-tax-alumni-directory.html">here</a>. </p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-75890288750345060342024-02-06T22:14:00.006-05:002024-02-06T22:14:48.759-05:00Death of Karen A. Smith 12/19/23 (2/7/24)<p>Karen Ann Smith, a long-time attorney in CTS-Northern, died
on 12/19/23. The obituary is <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/karen-smith-obituary?id=53927567#obituary">here</a>.
The obituary notes that “A memorial service will be held at Everly-Wheatley
Funeral Home on February 10th from 2-5 PM.” The website indicates that the
Funeral Home is at 1500 W. Braddock Rd., Alexandria, VA 22302.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-19981722507035466492024-02-06T14:21:00.003-05:002024-02-06T14:21:29.086-05:00Death of Steve Shapiro on 2/2/24 (2/6/24)<p>Steven (“Steve”) Shapiro die on 2/2/24. His WAPO obituary is
<a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/steven-shapiro-obituary?id=54299890&fhid=10909">here</a>.
The excerpt relevant to the Tax Division is:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>In 1962, he and his wife moved to the Washington, DC area so
that he could begin what became a 38-year legal career with the Department of
Justice. He took great pride in working for, and in representing, the United
States. Beginning as a trial attorney, he ultimately was promoted to the
position of Section Chief in a Civil Trial Section of the Tax Division,
managing over thirty trial attorneys, as well as support staff. During his
service in the Department of Justice, he earned a Masters of Law degree in Taxation
from Georgetown University.</blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Also, the obituary has so much more to let you know more about him. I related to the following:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>Steven emphasized the importance of honesty and treating
others with respect. He was a generous, understanding, and forgiving person. He
liked to help others accomplish their goals and see them be successful. His
unique sense of humor was well-known and usually appreciated.</blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">A good read about a good man.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>A side note: Steve was my assistant Chief while in Refund 2 from
1974 to 1977 (John Murray was Chief).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-34938670827326419522023-12-20T16:31:00.004-05:002023-12-20T16:37:09.515-05:00Former AAG Tax Justice Robert H. Jackson's Contribution in Dobson to the Deference Discussion Currently in the News and Before the Supreme Court (12/20/23)<p>I recently completed an article that features prominently Justice
Robert H. Jackson who served on the Supreme Court in the 1940s. Jackson’s role in the article is based on the unanimous decision
he authored in <i>Dobson v. Commissioner</i>, 320 U.S. 489 (1943), reh. den.
321 U.S. 231 (1944). <i>Dobson</i> was a tax case. The issue was whether the Tax
Court’s statutory interpretation of tax law was entitled to deference in the
appellate courts. While, as DOJ Tax Alumni certainly know, Congress
legislatively did away with deference to Tax Court interpretations of law in
1948 in what is now §
7482(a) (requiring review the same as appellate review of district court opinions), Justice Jackson’s <i>Dobson</i> decision in 1943 was rock solid for
two reasons: (i) agency interpretations of law were entitled to deference as <i>Dobson</i>
amply laws out, and the Tax Court was statutorily an agency; and (ii) the
statutory standard for review of agency decisions permitted review only if the
Tax Court interpretation was “not in accordance with law” (1939 Code § 1141(c)), a standard which <i>Dobson</i>
held <b>required</b> deference. Indeed, the form of deference <i>Dobson</i> lays out is basically
what we call <i>Chevron</i> deference today.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>Dobson</i> ties into the subject of my article, titled <u>The Tax
Contribution to Deference and APA § 706 </u>[linked at end of this blog). Many readers also probably know that
the Supreme Court has accepted cert to decide whether <i>Chevron</i> deference to agency interpretations
of law should be overruled or clarified. A major issue is whether § 706 precludes, permits, or
requires deference to agency interpretations. In this regard, recall that <i>Dobson</i>
emphasized that the Tax Court was statutorily an agency, making prior court precedents
and the holding in <i>Dobson</i> to require deference to the Tax Court interpretations relevant
to a discussion of deference to agency interpretations. More importantly, the
statutorily prescribed standard for review of Tax Court interpretations was “not in accordance with
law” which <i>Dobson</i> held required deference. The APA incorporated that
same standard in § 706: “(2)hold
unlawful and set aside agency action, findings, and conclusions found to be (A)arbitrary,
capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.”
My argument is that the use of the same standard for agency interpretations of
law certainly permits (perhaps even requires) deference to agency interpretations.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Preparing the
article required that I give renewed attention to Justice Jackson and his background
in the tax law, some of which was with DOJ Tax. The Wikipedia discussion of Justice Jackson is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_H._Jackson">here</a>. I provide the following excerpt from the
article surveying his tax litigation background (in which I think DOJ Tax
Alumni may have interest):</p><blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>2. Dobson Nuance. <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>a. Dobson’s author - Justice Robert Jackson <o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dobson was authored by Justice Robert Jackson, who, although
not a substantive tax expert, had been a trial lawyer in private practice and
in the Government in the following capacities after coming to Washington in the
New Deal revolution: <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">• Chief Counsel of the IRS where he advised on tax law and
managed the IRS’s trial lawyers in the Board of Tax Appeals (“BTA” with the
name changed to Tax Court in 1942; for the critical part of this article, in
1942, the BTA’s name had been changed to Tax Court). As Chief Counsel, Jackson
tried at least one prominent tax case.43 <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>• Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division,
overseeing the Government’s tax trials in all courts except the Tax Court.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>• Solicitor General (“SG”) of the U.S. managing and
sometimes arguing Government cases in the Supreme Court. In addition, the SG
had to approve Government petitions for certiorari and all Government appeals
to courts of appeals in tax cases from trial courts (including the Tax Court).</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">He was also Attorney General (“SG”) of the U.S. before
ascending to the Tax Court. (All of these positions he occupied in less than 10
years prior to coming to the Supreme Court.)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>He was also a member of the select AG Committee on
Administrative Procedure formed in 1939 which produced the <u>Final Report on Administrative
Procedure (1941)</u> that he did not sign because the Report was issued to him as Attorney
General. That Final Report that he approved is the starting point for “legislative
history” for the APA and amply describes the state of deference to agency
interpretations, in much the way Justice Jackson described agency deference in
<i>Dobson</i> in 1943. The point is that Justice Jackson had extensive background in
both tax litigation and administrative law. Hence, he spoke authoritatively as
to the need for agency deference and “not in accordance with law” as requiring a standard requiring deference.</p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That story about <i>Dobson</i> and Justice Jackson’s
contributions to the proper interpretation of § 706 has not been a key feature of the discussion of the issue
currently before the Supreme Court. I try to tell it in my article.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The article is
available for review and downloaded on SSRN Townsend, John A. <u>The Tax
Contribution to Deference and APA § 706</u> (December 14, 2023). Available at
SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract= <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4665227">here</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> I do suggest in the article that the current <i>Chevron</i> fury is more political and ideological than something that should divide the country or the Court (but then the Court is not above such distractions).</o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-13282274581544824102023-05-10T16:54:00.007-04:002023-05-10T16:56:54.994-04:00Death of Hank Chamberlain on 4/22/23 (5/10/23)<p>Harold ("Hank") Chamberlain died on 4/22/23. Hank's obituary is <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/houstonchronicle/name/harold-chamberlain-obituary?id=51713412">here</a>. From the obituary regarding his tenure at DOJ Tax:</p><p></p><blockquote>[After graduating from University of Arkansas Law School], Hank went straight to work for the Internal Revenue Service in the Office of the Chief Counsel as a trial attorney followed by a couple of years at the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.</blockquote><p></p><p>My database shows that Hank was a trial attorney in the Refund 2 Section from 1961 to 1963.</p><p>After leaving DOJ Tax in 1963, he moved to Houston and set up a law practice that ultimately became now Chamberlain Hrdlicka, <a href="https://www.chamberlainlaw.com/">here</a>, in Houston, expanding to several other cities. </p><p>When I was with the firm in the late 1970s for a 1.5 year period, the firm was named Chamberlain, Hrdlicka, White & Waters, with all of the then-named partners being DOJ Tax Division alumni, all from Refund 2 I believe. Over the years, several other DOJ Tax Division lawyers worked there. Hank left the Chamberlain Hrdlicka firm sometime that I don't now recall and continued his practice virtually until his death either as a sole practitioner or in association with another firm.</p><p>Hank contacted me in the last few years to start up some discussion, particularly to engage me on topics from my Federal Tax Crimes and Federal Tax Procedure Blogs. It was good to re-connect with him.</p><p>Hank used to have several exuberant expressions as he wandered around visiting every lawyer in the firm every morning. I will repeat some of them I recall, putting them in quotes which might not be fully accurate, but do give the sense of what I recall.</p><p>One was that, after he had accomplished something noteworthy for the firm: "That's not bad for a one-eyed guy from Dumas Arkansas." (As best I recall, he had lost one of his eyes in a scuffle sometime before he left Dumas.)</p><p>Another Hank saying: "Give me 15 minutes' notice and I will give an hour talk on any tax subject." I don't know that anyone every tested him on the short notice thing, but I do recall he could give exuberant talks which often were fuzzy or imprecise in the details, but they seemed to work with the audiences for the occasions.</p><p>Still another Hank saying: "I had the firm move to a floor where we were the last stop on an elevator bank. That way I could introduce myself to the others in the elevator, shake hands, and hand them my business card. I got a lot of business that way."</p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-36026823204301768962023-04-27T12:11:00.003-04:002023-04-27T12:11:58.826-04:00Death of Thomas (“Tom”) L. Stapleton (4/27/23)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tom Stapleton died on April 24, 2023. His Washington Post
obituary is </span><a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/thomas-stapleton-obituary?id=51739441" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tom was in the Appellate Section, first as a line attorney,
then as Reviewer, and then as Assistant Chief of Appellate. After Appellate, Tom
went to Metropolitan Life, where he rose to Senior Vice President and Tax
Director. He then was of counsel to Davis & Harman, LLP. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">His online bio from the law firm is </span><a href="https://www.davis-harman.com/bio.aspx?BioID=VFdwRlBRPT0=" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While I was in Appellate (1969-1974), Tom was a Reviewer. He reviewed
briefs drafted by the assigned line appellate lawyer and occasionally took oral
arguments. Tom reviewed at least 5 (probably 6 or 7) of my briefs, including
2 or perhaps 3 insurance company tax briefs. He was one of the best reviewers,
if not the best, that I worked with in Appellate. He was very good at improving
briefs.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On another note, the obit says he was a Brooklyn Dodger fan
(presumably because he grew up in Brooklyn) and that Jackie Robinson was his
hero. I was a Brooklyn Dodger fan from Greenwood, SC, and Jackie was my
hero. I did not have as easy an opportunity to attend games at Ebbets Field as
Tom did, but I took every opportunity when in NY.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-8960421771454723842023-04-09T21:43:00.002-04:002023-04-09T21:44:38.881-04:00Death of John Kaleba (4/9/23)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">John Kaleba died on 4/4/23. His obituary is <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/bostonglobe/name/john-kaleba-obituary?id=51593357">here</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p> </o:p>According to the information I received, John served as a
trial attorney in Western Criminal Enforcement Section from 1999 to 2004 or
2005.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I did not know John, but I received a comment that “He was a
really wonderful man.” I think that is reflected in his obit. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-7834046245638956262023-02-11T11:46:00.001-05:002023-02-11T11:46:41.577-05:00Death of Michael K. Cavanaugh (2/11/23)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Michael K. Cavanaugh, a DOJ Tax Alum, died this past weekend.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">His obituary is </span><a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/chicagotribune/name/michael-cavanaugh-obituary?id=43487481" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Excerpt from the obit re his DOJ Tax service is: “He earned an LL.M. in taxation from New York
University School of Law. <b>Michael was a trial attorney with the Tax Division of
the Department of Justice</b> prior to becoming a partner at Keck, Mahin, &
Cate and then Foley & Lardner.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I understand that his DOJ Tax tenure was in Appellate in the early 1960s; a
search of cases confirms that.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The following information from the obit might be useful to Alums, particularly those in the Chicago vicinity:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote>Visitation Thursday, February 16, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. to
7:30 p.m. at Michalik Funeral Home, 1056 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60642.
Family and friends will meet Friday, February 17, 2023, at Assumption Catholic
Church, 323 W. Illinois St., Chicago, IL 60654 for a 10:30 a.m. Funeral Mass.</blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-33188272425854581282023-02-09T18:17:00.000-05:002023-02-09T18:17:28.584-05:00Death of Michael Swygert-Smith 9/22/22 (2/9/23)<p>Michael Swygert-Smith (known as Mike Smith in his Tax
Division days) passed away on 9/22/22.
The obituaries are in the Washington Post <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/michael-swygert-smith-obituary?id=42725140">here</a>,
and The Winchester Star, <a href="https://www.winchesterstar.com/obituaries/michael-swygert-smith/article_699d2e45-b083-5b04-9b36-3ddffc677542.html">here</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The obits say Mike worked in the “Tax Appellate Division of
the Department of Justice under Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy” and that he
left “After a number of years arguing tax cases before the Fifth Circuit in the
Southeast , and working as an aide on RFK's political campaigns.” The Fifth
Circuit then did include some Southeast states (later split off into the
Eleventh Circuit), but I have to assume that Mike’s appellate docket included
other areas of the Fifth Circuit (e.g., Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi) and
indeed other Circuits. (That was my experience in DOJ Tax Appellate, coming
along not too long after Mike.)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-84781827940782270062023-01-05T11:48:00.000-05:002023-01-05T11:48:03.380-05:00Brian Schwalb Sworn in as D.C. Attorney General (1/5/23)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I previously blogged that DOJ Tax Alum Brian Schwalb had been
elected D.C. Attorney General.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><u style="font-family: inherit;">Brian
Schwalb Elected D.C. Attorney General</u><span style="font-family: inherit;"> (11/12/22), </span><a href="https://dojtaxalumni.blogspot.com/2022/11/brian-schwalb-elected-dc-attorney.html" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">On January 2, 2023, Brian was sworn in as DC
Attorney General.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">See Press Release </span><a href="https://thedcline.org/2023/01/02/press-release-brian-l-schwalb-sworn-in-as-attorney-general-for-the-district-of-columbia/" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> \</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Press Release has this on his DOJ Tax stint:</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">“After graduating from Duke University and
Harvard Law School, and completing a two-year judicial clerkship, Brian served
as a trial attorney in the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another item in the press release caught my attention (bold
face supplied by JAT):</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;">“As I reflect on how we find answers to these questions of
equity, safety and democracy, I think about advice my father gave me. </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">Today
– January 2nd – would have been my dad’s 87th birthday. When he left the
Justice Department in 1965, </b><span style="font-family: inherit;">many of the law firms in Washington wouldn’t
consider hiring him because he was Jewish.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I can only imagine how he’d feel
seeing his son standing on this stage taking the oath of office as D.C.’s
Attorney General. Dad’s advice to me was simple: God gives us two ears and one
mouth for a reason. Listen twice as much as you talk. As your
independently-elected Attorney General, I will listen to everyone. I will
collaborate with anyone who is committed to what is best for the District. But
I will be beholden to no one – no one other than the residents who have
retained me to represent Washington’s best interests.”</span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, I wondered whether his dad was a DOJ Tax Alum.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I checked my database of DOJ Tax alums
and found that indeed his dad was a DOJ Tax Alum.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I have “Burton A. Schwalb” listed as a trial
attorney in Refund 3 from 1960 to 1965.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">At
the time he was entered in the database, he was listed as with Schwalb,
Donnenfeld, Bray & Silbert, a firm that ceased to exist in 1990s.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">My
database shows that two of the other name partners in that firm -- <b>Jack Bray</b> and <b>Earl Silbert</b> -- were also DOJ Tax Alumni.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I could not determine
whether Donnenfeld was a DOJ Tax Alum, but given that three of the four name
partners were, that is a possibility.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As an aside, old-timers (like me) may remember Earl Silbert who burst into the
national scene after his DOJ Tax stint as the D.C. U.S. Attorney prosecutor in
the initial Watergate investigation. I met Earl Silbert while I was with DOJ Tax Appellate. By then, Earl was down the hall working for some other DOJ function, I think perhaps Office of Legal Counsel. Earl was working with Carl Rauh (not a DOJ Tax Alum) who became Principal Assistant to Earl as D.C. U.S. Attorney and thereafter a partner in law practice</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">. My recollection is that Earl and Carl were working on D.C.'s "no-knock" legislation when I met them. See Earl's oral history </span><a href="https://dcchs.org/sb_pdf/complete-oral-history-silbert/" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. While I don't remember the exact content of my discussions with them, I do recall generally that they were both very smart, dedicated, and really class people.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-58469091137986479072022-12-28T16:32:00.004-05:002022-12-28T16:33:52.154-05:00Death of Garry Pearson 12/19/22 (12/28/22)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Garry Pearson died on 12/19/22. His obituary is <a href="https://www.normanfuneral.com/obituary/garry-pearson">here</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The obituary says in part here relevant: “After law school Garry litigated cases
throughout the United States as a trial attorney in the Tax Division at the
U.S. Department of Justice.” My Alum
database says that he was in refund 2 from 1958-1961. His tenure may have actually preceded the
formal designation Refund 2 (which, when I was there, covered roughly the South
from Virginia through Texas).</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The obituary says a “Celebration of Life” will be held in Grand
Forks in the Spring.</span></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-33275906575404434912022-12-21T10:22:00.002-05:002022-12-24T17:20:41.009-05:00 Death of Steve Fuerth 12/18/22 (12/21/22; 12/24/22)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Steve Fuerth died on December 18, 2022. An obituary is <span style="line-height: 107%;"><a href="https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/baltimore-md/stephen-fuerth-11070287">here</a></span>. Since it is brief, I just copy and paste it:</span></p><p></p><blockquote><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Stephen George Fuerth, 90, a long time lawyer for the US Justice Department, Tax Division, passed away on December 18, 2022; loving husband of Sallie J. Fuerth</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be directed in Mr. Fuerth’s memory to University of Michigan Law School, Attn: Gift Processing, 4000 Jeffries Hall, 701 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-3091</span></p></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">From some email traffic, I have gathered the following information:</span></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Steve was long-time Chief and Assistant Chief in the Western Region civil trial section.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Steve was formerly also an assistant chief in the old General Litigation section.</span></li></ul><p></p><div><b>Added 12/24/22 5:00pm:</b></div><div><br /></div><div>The following expanded obituary was emailed to me by Sallie Fuerth:</div><div>
<p class="MsoPlainText"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoPlainText">Stephen G. Fuerth,
who conducted trials across the United States for the US Department of
Justice, died Sunday, December 18. He was 90 years old and lived at Roland Park
Place in Baltimore.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">He once remarked that the only state he had never been in
was South Dakota. He tried civil tax cases on behalf of the Department of
Justice Tax Division. At the time he retired from the department, in 1994, he
was chief of one of the civil trial sections in the Tax Division.<span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Mr. Fuerth was born July 17, 1932 in Vienna, Austria to
Ernst and Marie Bock Fuerth. He and his mother traveled by ship to Ellis Island
in 1938. His father chose not to leave Austria.</p><p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Mr. Fuerth grew up in Detroit, Mich., and graduated from
Central High School there. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1954
with a degree in economics and from the University of Michigan Law School in
1957.</p><p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">He spent three years in the U.S. Air Force and was lucky
enough to be posted to the London area, so he represented airmen in the Old
Bailey. He also took the opportunity to see Europe by car and air.</p><p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">When he was discharged, he came to Washington, D.C.,
where he worked for the Federal Reserve for one year before moving to the Tax
Division.</p><p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">After Mr. Fuerth retired, he and his late wife, the
former Venette Fuller of Honolulu, moved back to Hawaii and continued their
travels. Mr. Fuerth was a certified diver and particularly enjoyed his dives in
the Solomon Islands and in the Red Sea.</p><p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">Mr. Fuerth met Sallie Connah of Charleston, S.C. in 2008
and married in 2010. The couple lived in Charleston until they moved to
Baltimore in 2021.</p><p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">He is survived by his wife and two step-sons, Graham J. Connah and Lee W. Connah.</p><p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoPlainText">At his request, there will be no funeral. Memorial
contributions may be made to the University of Michigan Law School.</p></blockquote><p class="MsoPlainText"><o:p></o:p></p></div>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-42873989903672839502022-11-12T15:42:00.005-05:002022-11-12T15:42:46.686-05:00Brian Schwalb Elected D.C. Attorney General (11/12/22)<p>Brian Schwalb was elected (unopposed) as the "second independently elected attorney general in D.C." See : Daniel Hamburg, Brian Farrell, <u>Unopposed Brian Schwalb becomes DC’s next attorney general</u> (DC News Now 11/8/22), <a href="https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-news/washington-dc/unopposed-brian-schwalb-becomes-dcs-next-attorney-general/">here</a>. The article says:</p><p></p><blockquote>After graduating from Duke University and Harvard Law School, Schwalb served as a law clerk in Baltimore for U.S. District Judge John R. Hargrove. After his two-year clerkship, he joined the U.S. Department of Justice’s Honor Program as a trial lawyer in the Tax Division. </blockquote><p></p><p>Bria's candidacy web site is <a href="https://saferdc.com/">here</a>.</p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-91105911352085151942022-09-17T08:44:00.004-04:002022-09-17T08:44:55.415-04:00Senate Confirms Lara E. Montcalvo for First Circuit Judge (9/17/22)<p>Lara Ewens Montecalvo was approved by the Senate for a
position on the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
See <u>Senate approves Rhode Island Public Defender Montecalvo for
federal appeals court</u> (Providence Journal 9/14/22), <a href="https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/courts/2022/09/14/lara-montecalvo-appointed-1st-us-circuit-court-appeals/10367504002/">here</a>. The article says:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>Montecalvo previously worked as a trial lawyer with the U.S.
Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. for four years, focusing on civil tax
matters in federal courts before joining the public defender’s office in 2004.</blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>I previously blogged about her nomination: <u>Lara Ewens Montecalvo nominated for 1st
Circuit Judgeship</u> (5/28/22), <a href="http://dojtaxalumni.blogspot.com/2022/04/lara-ewens-montalvo-nominated-for-1st.html">here</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-70356671853278271292022-09-15T13:53:00.001-04:002022-09-15T13:53:31.122-04:00Death of Earl Silbert (9/15/22)<p>The Washington Post on 9/14/22 has a long Obituary <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/09/14/watergate-prosecutor-earl-silbert-dead/">here</a> (pdf <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V_CCUbH8pqTiNci59Jr9WuH5ypror_vM/view?usp=sharing">here</a>) on the death of Earl Silbert on 9/6/22.
Earl Silbert became a prominent DOJ Tax alumnus after leaving the Tax
Division because of his role as prosecutor with the D.C. U.S. Attorney Office
for the District of Columbia upon the arrest and prosecution of the Watergate
Burglars before the responsibility for that matter was passed to Archibald Cos,
the special prosecutor.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">According to my database, Earl served in the Criminal Tax Section
from 1960 to 1961 and then in DOJ Tax Appellate from 1961 to 1964.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There is an oral history web offering on Earl by the Historical Society
of District of Columbia Circuit, <a href="https://dcchs.org/judges/earl-j-silbert-esq/">here</a>. That page identifies a later stint in DOJ:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>In 1969, Earl returned to the Department of Justice for a
brief period of time in the Office of Criminal Justice. While there, Earl
worked on the Court Reform and Criminal Procedure Act of 1970 that created the
Superior Court of the District of Columbia.</blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I joined DOJ Tax Appellate in 1969 and became hallway
friends with Earl and his sidekick, Carl Rauh (their offices were just down the
hall). Both of them were class acts. I knew that they were working on important
stuff at the time and was always pleased when I could engage them in
discussions. They later formed a law
partnership together.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-18619816548695163782022-06-26T09:51:00.003-04:002022-12-21T10:13:55.345-05:00Death of Skip Trimble 6/18/22 (6/26/22)<p class="MsoNormal">Robert Lynn (Skip) Trimble died on June 18/22. An extended obituary written by his surviving
wife, Mary, is <a href="https://edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dynamic_article_popover.aspx?artguid=21f17e45-b1a5-4aa8-b34d-914a79aebc1a">here</a>. On his Justice Department days:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">After law school he was immediately hired by the Justice
Department and moved to Washington D.C. There were many adventures at Rehoboth
Beach and big cases he got to try immediately with the Justice Department, and
he made lifelong friends and again had many stories to tell.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The Justice Department transferred him to Ft. Worth where he
officed. But he lived in his beloved Big D, in the area of apartments fondly
called "Cement City." Skip (or “Cliffer,” as some called him) made
many close friends there that he shared good times with for decades. Again,
many stories from those days have been retold countless times.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Skip left the Justice Department and began his legal career
in private practice with Sands & Tyler.</p></blockquote><p>Celebration of Life 2pm Wednesday, June 29, 2022 at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church, 1901 Peters Colony Carrolton, TX. </p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-198589377500743812022-06-07T16:17:00.003-04:002022-06-07T16:18:01.001-04:00President Nominates Adair Ford Boroughs for United States Attorney for the District of South Carolina (6/7/22)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">The announcement, dated 6/6/22, is in the list of nominees <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/06/president-biden-announces-five-new-nominees-to-serve-as-u-s-attorneys-two-to-serve-as-u-s-marshals/">here</a>:</span></p><p></p><blockquote><p><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Adair Ford Boroughs, United States Attorney Nominee for the District of South Carolina</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: white; color: #0a2458;">Adair Ford
Boroughs is a founding partner of <span face="MercurySSm-Book-Pro_Web, serif">Boroughs Bryant, LLC </span>where
she has practiced since 2021. From 2017 to 2019, she was the Executive Director
of Charleston Legal Access. Ms. Boroughs served as a law clerk for Judge
Richard M. Gergel on the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina
from 2013 to 2017. <b>She was previously a trial attorney in the Tax Division of
the United States Department of Justice from 2007 to 2013.</b> Ms. Boroughs
received her J.D. from Stanford Law School in 2007 and B.S., </span><em style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-style: normal; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi;">summa cum
laude</span></em>, from Furman University in 2002. </span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-72644780829286781922022-06-04T13:29:00.001-04:002022-06-04T13:29:25.257-04:00 President Nominates Richard K. Delmar to be Treasury Inspector General (6/4/22)<p>The announcement, dated 6/3/22, is in the list of nominees <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/06/03/president-biden-announces-key-nominees-18/">here</a>:</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Richard K. Delmar, Nominee for the Inspector General of the
Department of the Treasury</b><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Richard K. Delmar is the Deputy Inspector General of the
Department of the Treasury. He has served as Acting Inspector General and as
Counsel. Earlier in his career, Delmar served on active duty in the U.S. Navy
Judge Advocate General’s Corps, <b>as a trial attorney in the Department of
Justice Tax Division</b>, and as a tax litigator and criminal tax program manager
with the Office of Chief Counsel at the Internal Revenue Service. Delmar is a
graduate of Georgetown University, the New York University School of Law, and
the Naval War College Off-Campus Graduate Program. He is a member of the
District of Columbia Bar.</p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-81499665637118428332022-05-31T11:38:00.001-04:002022-05-31T11:38:24.786-04:00Death of Tom Troyer 5/20/22 (5/31/22)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tom Troyer, a DOJ Tax alumnus, died on 5/20/22. The Washington Post obituary is <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/thomas-troyer-obituary?id=34971466">here</a>. Tom was a giant in the tax law as his
obituary evidences. The obituary
indicates that he served in several important government posts but does not
mention his Tax Division service specifically.
My database indicates that he served in the Court of Claims section from
1962 to 1964.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-74933420692318418712022-05-04T14:49:00.005-04:002022-05-15T12:34:25.014-04:00Death of Bruce Morton 5/1/22 (5/4/22)<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bruce Morton, an alumnus</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">of the Southern </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Criminal
Enforcement Section, passed away on 5/1/22.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The obituary appears on The Malone Report: <u>RIP Bruce Morton</u>, </span><a href="https://jeffbreinholt.substack.com/p/the-malone-report-rip-bruce-morton?token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjo1NjcwNzEwNCwicG9zdF9pZCI6NTM0NDcxNDIsIl8iOiI4UmdhcSIsImlhdCI6MTY1MTY4OTUyMywiZXhwIjoxNjUxNjkzMTIzLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMjg3MjkzIiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.Ff0jZ4OcPCSfsLizmSvDPlmk4gxakyDv0wLfcKHJT1c&s=r" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">,
and on the funeral home site </span><a href="https://www.echovita.com/us/obituaries/va/falls-church/bruce-edward-morton-sr-14606251" style="font-family: inherit;">here</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">From the Malone Report:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><blockquote>He specialized in tax law, receiving his L.L.M. from
Georgetown Law. For nearly 25 years, he was a Trial Attorney in the United
States Department of Justice’s Criminal Section of the Tax Division.</blockquote><p>The Washington Post Obituary is <a href="https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/washingtonpost/name/bruce-morton-obituary?id=34742609">here</a>. </p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1495336133937360915.post-36122449701906793512022-04-28T13:38:00.009-04:002022-05-24T14:59:36.065-04:00Lara Ewens Montecalvo nominated for 1st Circuit Judgeship (5/28/22)<p>President Biden nominated Lara Ewens Montecalvo to be a judge
on the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
See White House announcement <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/04/27/president-biden-names-seventeenth-round-of-judicial-nominees/">here</a>. The portion of the announcement applicable to
here is (DOJ Tax portion bold-faced by JAT):</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><blockquote>Lara E. Montecalvo is the Public Defender of Rhode Island, a
role she has held since 2020. Ms. Montecalvo previously served as an assistant
public defender in the Rhode Island Public Defender’s Office from 2004 to 2020.
She held several roles in that office, including as Chief of the Appellate
Division from 2014 to 2020, an appellate attorney from 2010 to 2014, and a
trial attorney from 2004 to 2010. <b>Ms. Montecalvo was a trial attorney in the
Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2000 to 2004.</b> Ms.
Montecalvo received her J.D., magna cum laude, from Boston College Law School
in 2000 and her B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1996.</blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>She was in the Civil Northern section.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Her Wikipedia page is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lara_Montecalvo">here</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Her Vetting Room page is <a href="https://vettingroom.org/tag/lara-montecalvo/">here</a>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Jack Townsendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14469823736335455874noreply@blogger.com0