US v. Chabot — tax / criminal — affirmance — Restani

During an investigation of overseas bank accounts, the IRS issued a summons requiring Eli Chabot to turn over certain bank records that a federal regulation required him to keep. Chabot opposed the summons, invoking his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. The district court ruled for the IRS, and today the Third Circuit affirmed. Joining six other circuits, the court held that the records fell within the required-records exception to the Fifth Amendment, even though Chabot argued that the information in the records was almost exactly what the government needed to charge them with felonious failure to report.

Joining Restani, who sat by designation, were Ambro and Cowen. (That’s one active, one senior, and one visiting, illustrating the circuit’s judicial emergency.) Arguing counsel were Richard Levine for the taxpayer and Robert Branman for the government.