Opinion ID: 484309
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Late Submission of Material by the IRS

Text: 39 One additional matter concerning the good faith showing requires discussion. After the case had been argued and submitted, the government sent additional materials to us. Included in this material were purported copies of portions of Revenue Canada's Operations Manual outlining the stages of criminal tax investigations. The government claims the excerpts indicate that the Revenue Canada had not yet recommended criminal prosecution and asks us to consider the excerpts under rule 44.1. Fed.R.Civ.P. 44.1. The taxpayers objected to the government's submission. 40 Approximately one-half of the material the government submitted is additional briefing on domestic law. The government did not seek leave of the court before filing it and thereby violated subsections (c) and (j) of appellate rule 28. Fed.R.App.P. 28(c) & (j). We strike this portion and shall not consider it. We deal with the remaining material under rule 44.1, which states: Determination of Foreign Law 41 A party who intends to raise an issue concerning the law of a foreign country shall give notice in his pleadings or other reasonable written notice. The court, in determining foreign law, may consider any relevant material or source, including testimony, whether or not submitted by a party or admissible under the Federal Rules of Evidence. The court's determination shall be treated as a ruling on a question of law. 42 Fed.R.Civ.P. 44.1. We note with concern that the government has made similar late submissions of foreign law materials in at least two other reported cases of this type. See Harris v. United States, 768 F.2d 1240, 1242 (11th Cir.1985), vacated, --- U.S.----, 107 S.Ct. 450, 93 L.Ed.2d 398 (1986) (remanded for reconsideration in light of O'Connor v. United States, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 347, 93 L.Ed.2d 206 (1986)); Coplin v. United States, 761 F.2d 688, 691 (Fed.Cir.1985), aff'd sub nom. O'Connor v. United States, --- U.S. ----, 107 S.Ct. 347, 93 L.Ed.2d 206 (1986). We realize that we may consider foreign law materials at any time, whether or not submitted by a party, and that late submissions often have been considered in cases interpreting treaties. Fed.R.Civ.P. 44.1; see Coplin, 761 F.2d at 691-92. We decline to consider these. The purpose of rule 44.1's notice requirement is to avoid unfairly surprising opposing parties. Fed.R.Civ.P. 44.1 advisory committee's notes. Our task is certainly easier if a party who intends to raise an issue of foreign law does so as early as possible. Submission of such materials in the district court may well have the salutary effect of avoiding the delay encountered in appeals. Absent special circumstances, parties should present issues of foreign law in their appellate briefs at the latest. The excerpts submitted to us arrived without exact citations as to their source or their present validity. In fairness to the taxpayers and in order to encourage early submission of such material in the future, we decided the good faith issue on the briefs and oral argument. The government may submit the additional material upon remand, if necessary. At that time the taxpayers will have adequate opportunity to respond.