Opinion ID: 670739
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: 26 U.S.C. Sec. 6103(h)(5) Juror Audit History

Text: 36 Section 6103(h)(5) provides both the government and the taxpayer, in civil and criminal tax cases, the right to request from the Secretary of the Treasury, in writing, a yes or no response to the question whether a potential juror has ever been audited or investigated by the IRS. In relevant part, section 6103(h)(5) of the United States Code, Title 26, provides: 37 In connection with any judicial proceeding described in paragraph (4) to which the United States is a party, the Secretary [of the Treasury] shall respond to a written inquiry from an attorney of the Department of Justice ... or any person (or his legal representative) who is a party to such proceeding as to whether an individual who is a prospective juror in such proceeding has or has not been the subject of any audit or other tax investigation by the Internal Revenue Service. The Secretary shall limit such response to an affirmative or negative reply to such inquiry. 38 26 U.S.C. Sec. 6103(h)(5) (1994). The statute was enacted without instructions or procedures regarding its implementation, or the substantive consequences, if any, for noncompliance. Because we conclude Knapp waived this issue for review, and, therefore, it is not squarely before us, we reserve for another day the question of precisely how the statute is to be implemented or what circumstances constitute effective compliance with section 6103(h)(5). 2 39 After indictment and prior to trial, Knapp filed a plethora of documents with the court. These pretrial filings included legitimate requests for information, most in the form of demands, interspersed with the well-worn boilerplate of the tax protest movement. In many instances, both the government and the court had to parse the wheat from the chaff in order to understand what Knapp was demanding. Four of Knapp's pretrial filings relate to the issue he now attempts to raise, for the first time, on appeal; the denial of his right to receive audit information of potential jurors, pursuant to 26 U.S.C. Sec. 6103(h)(5). 40 A review of the record reveals that Knapp made two requests for information regarding the jury pool. The first request, addressed to the court, related to any and all information the government had, or intended to acquire, regarding the potential jurors. The second was an independent request, addressed to the district court clerk, for potential juror information, referring to section 6103(h)(5). The first request involved three filings. The first filing was entitled Notice And Demand For Discovery And Production Of Any And All Evidence Of Jury Contact By The Government. The second relevant filing was entitled Notice and Demand For Production Of Information. With these two filings, Knapp sought any and all information obtained or to be obtained by the government regarding the jury panel in this case. This included tax audit information of potential jurors allowed by section 6103(h)(5). 41 Knapp was apparently concerned about achieving information parity with the government. He did not include in this first request any independent demand to have the information if the government did not have it or intend to get it. We quote from Knapp's Notice And Demand For Production Of Information, document number 21 in the district court record: 42 To allow the prosecution, by way of taxpayer funds, to acquire and store information which would assist them in selecting a jury in this case would be fundamentally unfair unless and until the Defendant has access to the same information. 43 WHEREFORE, the Defendant demands from this honorable Court an order allowing discovery and production of any and all information obtained or to be obtained by the prosecution regarding the jury panel in this case. 44 The government responded to Knapp's demand by stating that it had no information regarding potential jurors, nor did it intend to acquire any information regarding potential jurors. The government informed the court it intended to rely upon the voir dire for audit information regarding the prospective jurors. The government suggested that, if the court should so order, it would acquire the information Knapp was seeking and deliver it to Knapp. 45 Based upon these representations, both Knapp and the government were at parity, and, thus, the magistrate judge interpreted Knapp's demands regarding information about potential jurors to be moot and denied Knapp's demand. Knapp filed an objection (the third relevant filing) to this ruling with the district judge. The district judge never ruled on Knapp's objection. This, however, does not lend Knapp any support for this appeal. His initial request was for information parity. It was not an independent, timely request for access to potential juror audit information. 46 While the magistrate judge had Knapp's initial request for information under advisement, Knapp sent a letter (the fourth relevant filing) to the clerk of the district court. This letter, dated July 25, 1992, requested the names and addresses of the prospective jurors who may be selected for his trial. Knapp quoted the dictates of section 6103(h)(5) and informed the clerk of the date Judge Evans had established for his trial, September 15, 1992. Knapp sent a carbon copy of his July 25 letter to the government. 47 On appeal, the government claims there is a handwritten notation on the upper right hand corner of the filed copy of Knapp's July 25 letter which suggests that Knapp was sent a potential juror list. We do not find such a notation. The question of whether Knapp was sent a potential jury list based upon his letter of July 25, 1992, however, is inconsequential. Knapp did not file his request by motion addressed to the court, pursuant to either Rule 12 or Rule 47 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Knapp sent a letter to the district court clerk. Further, Knapp did not inform the district court of the fact that he lacked this information when the trial started. 48 Knapp now claims his right to potential juror audit information pursuant to section 6103(h)(5) has been violated. He bases this contention and this appeal regarding this issue on the communications described supra. We conclude that Knapp was aware of his right to receive this information and that he made at least one independent request for juror audit information, albeit to the clerk of the court. The record is unclear regarding whether or not he received the information. However, on this record we decline to charge the district judge with the affirmative duty to ascertain whether or not Knapp had requested or received potential juror audit information. This issue should have been brought, by Knapp, to the attention of the district judge by a timely motion prior to proceeding with the trial. See United States v. Droge, 961 F.2d 1030, 1036 (2d Cir.1992). This would have allowed the district judge to decide upon the proper course of action. Further, if the district judge determined that a thorough voir dire would satisfy the dictates of section 6103(h)(5) and Knapp did not agree, Knapp could have objected to proceeding with trial without giving him time to acquire the information he sought. 49 Accordingly, Knapp waived his right to appeal this issue because: (1) he failed to make a proper request, pursuant to either Rule 12 or Rule 47 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, for release of potential juror information from the district judge; (2) he did not inform the district judge that he lacked this information prior to or during the trial; and (3) he did not object to proceeding to trial without acquiring the information. Failure to bring matters to the attention of the district judge precludes consideration of those matters on appeal. See, e.g., United States v. Monzon, 869 F.2d 338, 342 (7th Cir.1989) (failure to make district court aware of circumstances surrounding evidence defendant wants suppressed waives right to rely on those circumstances on appeal); United States v. Carmel, 801 F.2d 997, 1000 (7th Cir.1986) (failure to bring factual dispute to attention of district court waives review of dispute on appeal). Knapp may not now complain of any error by the district judge.