United States Tax Court

• Court
• Judges

Tax Court Federal Circuit Chief: John O. Colvin Judges: 15 Posts: 15 Vacancies: 0 Active judges Buch • Foley • Gale • Goeke • Gustafson • Halpern • Holmes • Kerrigan • Kroupa • Lauber • Morrison • Paris • Vasquez • Wherry, Jr. Senior Judges Chabot • Chiechi • Cohen • Dawson, Jr. • Gerber • Haines • Jacobs • Laro • Marvel • Ruwe • Thornton • Wells • Whalen Special masters Panuthos • Armen • Carluzzo • Dean Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

The United States Tax Court is an Article I federal trial court established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court". Tax Court judges are appointed for a term of 15 years, not for life.

Vacancy warning level

The United States Tax Court' vacancy warning level is currently set at green. The court currently has no vacancies out of their fifteen posts.

Jurisdiction

The court has jurisdiction over claims across the United States.

Cases heard

The Tax Court specializes in adjudicating disputes over federal income tax, generally prior to the time at which the formal tax assessments are made by the Internal Revenue Service. Though taxpayers may choose to litigate tax matters in a variety of legal settings, the Tax Court is the only forum in which taxpayers outside of bankruptcy may do so without having first paid the disputed tax in full. Parties who contest the imposition of a tax may also bring an action in any United States District Court, or in the United States Court of Federal Claims; however these venues require that the tax be paid first, and that the party then file a lawsuit to recover the contested amount paid (the "full payment rule" of Flora v. United States). According to the courts website, the jurisdiction also includes, "authority to redetermine transferee liability, make certain types of declaratory judgments, adjust partnership items, order abatement of interest, award administrative and litigation costs, redetermine worker classification, determine relief from joint and several liability on a joint return, review certain collection actions, and review awards to whistleblowers who provide information to the Commissioner of Internal Revenue on or after December 20, 2006."

Clerk's office

The United States Tax Court has one courthouse in the District of Columbia. The Clerk's office is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding Federal holidays. The Clerk can be reached at 202-521-0700. While the court has over 60 locations in all 50 states the official mailing address is:

United States Tax Court,
400 Second Street NW, Washington, DC
20217-0002

History

Court history

The court was originally established by Congress through the Tax Reform Act of 1969 on December 30, 1969..

Judicial posts

The court has 15 judicial posts, with each post being appointed for 15 years.

Notable decisions

You can find a searchable decision database at United States Tax Court Decisions.

Federal courthouse

The court is located in Washington D.C. with trial courts in over 60 states.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit

External links

• Main website, U.S. Tax Court
• President Obama Nominates Ronald Buch to the United States Tax Court

References

Tax Court Federal Circuit Chief: John O. Colvin Judges: 15 Posts: 15 Vacancies: 0 Active judges Buch • Foley • Gale • Goeke • Gustafson • Halpern • Holmes • Kerrigan • Kroupa • Lauber • Morrison • Paris • Vasquez • Wherry, Jr. Senior Judges Chabot • Chiechi • Cohen • Dawson, Jr. • Gerber • Haines • Jacobs • Laro • Marvel • Ruwe • Thornton • Wells • Whalen Special masters Panuthos • Armen • Carluzzo • Dean Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

Active judges

Sitting judges

All judges are nominated to posts for 15 years.

See: Article III federal judge
The United States Tax Court has 15 posts and 0 vacancies. The current Chief Judge is John O. Colvin. This is a list of the current judges on the court:

Judge	Born	Home	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Preceeded	Bachelors	Law
Chief Judge John O. Colvin		Ohio	Reagan	9/1/1988 - Present	2006 - Present		University of Missouri, A.B., 1968	University of Missouri, J.D., 1971
Judge Maurice B. Foley		Illinois	Clinton	4/9/1995 - Present			Swarthmore College, B.A.	Boalt Hall School of Law, J.D.
Judge Joseph H. Gale		Virginia	Clinton	2/6/1996 - Present			Princeton University, A.B., 1976	University of Virginia School of Law, J.D., 1980
Judge Joseph Robert Goeke		Kentucky	W. Bush	4/22/2003 - Present			Xavier University, B.S., 1972	University of Kentucky, J.D., 1975
Judge David Gustafson		Greenville, SC	W. Bush	7/29/2008 - Present			Bob Jones University, B.A., 1978	Duke University School of Law, J.D., 1981
Judge James S. Halpern		New York	H.W. Bush	7/3/1990 - Present			University of Pennsylvania, B.S., 1967	University of Pennsylvania Law School, J.D., 1972
Judge Mark V. Holmes		New York	W. Bush	6/30/2003 - Present			Harvard, B.A., 1979	U. of Chicago Law, J.D., 1983
Judge Diane L. Kroupa		South Dakota	W. Bush	6/13/2003 - Present			Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, B.S.F.S., 1978	University of South Dakota Law School, J.D., 1981
Judge L. Paige Marvel		MD	Clinton	4/6/1998 - Present			College of Notre Dame, B.A., 1971	U. of Maryland Law, J.D., 1974
Judge Richard T. Morrison		Hutchinson, KS	W. Bush	8/28/2008 - Present			U. of Kansas, B.A., B.S., 1989	U. of Chicago Law, J.D., 1993
Judge Elizabeth Crewson Paris		Oklahoma	W. Bush	7/30/2008 - Present			U. of Tulsa, B.S., 1980	U. of Tulsa Law, J.D., 1987
Judge Michael B. Thornton		Mississippi	Clinton	3/8/1998 - Present			U. of Southern Mississippi, B.S., 1976	Duke U. Law, J.D., 1982
Judge Juan F. Vasquez		Texas	Clinton	5/1/1995 - Present			U. of Texas, B.B.A., 1972	U, of Houston Law, J.D., 1977
Judge Robert A. Wherry, Jr.		VA	W. Bush	4/23/2003 - Present			U. of Colorado, B.S.	U. of Colorado, J.D.
Judge Ronald L. Buch		Michigan	Obama	2013-Present			Northwood Institute	Detroit College of Law
Judge Kathleen Kerrigan		Massachusetts	Obama	2012-Present			Boston College	University of Notre Dame Law School
Judge Albert G. Lauber		New York	Obama	2013-Present			Yale College	Yale Law School

Pending appointments

There are no current pending appointments for the United States Tax Court.

Senior judges

See: Federal judges on senior status
The United States Tax Court has 13 judges on senior status currently. This is a list of the current senior judges on the court:

Judge	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Senior	Bachelors	Law
Senior Judge Mary Ann Cohen	Reagan	9/24/1982 - 9/30/2012	6/1/1996 - 5/31/2000	10/1/2012 - Present	University of California, B.S., 1964	University of Southern California School of Law, J.D., 1967
Judge Herbert L. Chabot	Carter	4/3/1978 - 6/30/2001		7/1/2001 - Present	C.C.N.Y., B.A., 1951	Columbia University, LL.B., 1957
Judge Carolyn P. Chiechi	H.W. Bush	10/1/1992 - 9/30/2007		9/30/2007 - Present	Georgetown University, B.S., 1965	Georgetown University, J.D., 1969
Judge Howard A. Dawson, Jr.	Kennedy	8/21/1962 - 6/2/1985	1973-1977 and 1983 - 1985	6/2/1985 - Present	University of North Carolina, B.S., 1946	George Washington University School of Law, J.D., 1949
Judge Joel Gerber	Reagan	6/18/1984 - 6/17/1999 and 12/15/2000 - 5/31/2006	2004 - 2006	6/1/2006 - Present	Roosevelt University, B.S., 1962	DePaul University, J.D., 1965
Judge Harry A. Haines	W. Bush	4/22/2003 - 5/30/2009		5/30/2009 - Present	St. Olaf College,B.A., 1961	University of Montana Law School, J.D., 1964
Judge Julian I. Jacobs	Reagan	3/30/1984 - 3/29/1999		3/30/1999 - Present	University of Maryland, B.A., 1958	University of Maryland Law School, LL.B., 1960
Judge David Laro	H.W. Bush	11/2/1992 - 11/1/2007		11/1/2007 - Present	Graduated University of Michigan, B.A., 1964	University of Illinois Law School, J.D., 1967
Judge Arthur L. Nims, III	Carter	6/29/1979 - 6/1/1992	1988 - 1992	6/1/1992 - Present	Williams College, B.A.	University of Georgia Law School, LL.B.
Judge Robert P. Ruwe	Reagan	11/20/1987 - 11/19/2002		11/20/2002 - Present		Salmon P. Chase College of Law, J.D., 1970
Judge Thomas B. Wells	Reagan	10/13/1986 - 1/1/2011	1997 and 2000 - 2004	1/1/2011 - Present	Miami University, Oxford, B.S., 1967	Emory University Law School, J.D., 1973
Judge Laurence J. Whalen	Reagan	11/23/1987 - 11/22/2002		11/23/2002 - Present	Georgetown University, A.B., 1967	Georgetown University Law Center, J.D., 1970

Special trial judges

Judge	Active	Bachelors	Law
Chief Special Trial Judge Peter J. Panuthos	6/12/1983 - Present	Bryant College, B.S., 1966	Suffolk University Law School, J.D., 1969
Special Trial Judge Robert N. Armen	8/27/1993 - Present	Duquesne University, B.A.	Georgetown University, J.D.
Special Trial Judge Lewis R. Carluzzo	8/7/1994 - Present	Villanova University, 1971	SVillanova University, 1974
Special Trial Judge John F. Dean	8/7/1994 - Present	Michigan State University, B.S., 1970	Catholic University of America, J.D., 1975

Past judges

Former Chief judges

Judge	Term
Arthur L. Nims, III	1988 - 1992
Joel Gerber	2004 - 2006
Howard A. Dawson, Jr.	1973-1977 and 1983 - 1985
Mary Ann Cohen	6/1/1996 - 5/31/2000

In order to qualify for the office of Chief Judge in one of the federal courts, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as Chief Judge. A vacancy in the office of Chief Judge is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The Chief Judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position. Unlike the Chief Justice of the United States, a Chief Judge returns to active service after the expiration of his or her term and does not create a vacancy on the bench by the fact of his or her promotion. See 28 U.S.C. § 45.

These rules for Chief Judges in the federal judiciary have been in effect since October 1, 1982. The office of Chief Judge was created in 1948. Until August 6, 1959, the position was filled in each federal court by the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as Chief Judge. From then until 1982 it was filled by the senior such judge who had not turned 70.

Former judges

1. Renato Beghe
2. Stephen J. Swift