Minnesota prosecutors have charged Hamline University professor Robin Magee with 11 felony counts for failing to file tax returns and filing false returns. In addition to criminal law, tax law is one of Magee’s specialties and she also practices as a tax lawyer.
Prosecutors allege that Magee failed to file her state tax returns for 2004 through 2006 until this year, never filed for 2007, and underpaid her taxes by $5,000. The government also charges that Magee claimed eight exemptions, even though she is single and has no dependents. Failing to pay $5000 and file returns is certainly wrong, but I am not sure it warrants an eleven count criminal indictment.
Magee reportedly claimed that she failed to file her tax returns because she has extreme attention deficit disorder, though if true that makes her work on the taxes of others a bit difficult to square. However, given the less than $5000 in arrears, I am not sure why this could not have been handled without a full-fledge criminal prosecution. Even if ADD did not contribute to this failure, this strikes me as a misdemeanor case that could have been pleaded out.
The school has decided to allow Magee to continue to teach, which is appropriate in my view. She will teach a class on criminal procedure and a seminar on race and the law.
On her faculty page, she writes:
“I believe, as the founders of this country espoused, that the greatest threat to law and order, peace and liberty is tyranny, not crime. I, therefore, believe that the highest calling of the lawyer is the call to fight against tryanny and government-sponsored or tolerated oppression. Thus, I struggle in my classes to instill in my students the knowledge of the law and the critical and analytical skills to hold the government (and everyone else) accountable to the rule of law and the rights of all people.”
For the full story, click here.
It is clear that the I.R.S. has been used as a club to beat down activists in the past, and that in the Tax Court the I.R.S. wins 99.9% of the time lately.
However, paying taxes is not a result of tyranny. Prof. Turley says “Failing to pay $5000 and file returns is certainly wrong, but I am not sure it warrants an eleven count criminal indictment.”
Could it be that there is a wave of over prosecuting on tax matters as a result of the current economic conditions?
Well, if you pissed off LBJ you did not have to worry about Hoover as much as the IRS. Do ya remember when Willie claimed to have burnt one on top of the Whitehouse with a Carter security officer. I do believe that the IRS did an investigation of his tax returns. I wonder if he inhaled?
AY,
I think the story was Willie, Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS went to the roof for a hoot while the Secret Service looked on in mild amusement.
And this is excessive. It’s 5K, it’s not like she’s Capone.
Ok, just never smoke weed with Willie.
AY,
Funny.
And to think I’ve always considered Toby just unintentionally humorous.
You know the story that I got some from somebody that got some from somebody which is still BS.
Willie did in fact have some of the finest weed. NO BS.
I don’t think it was the amount, as much as it was the eight exemptions. I’m familiar with ADD, and while it might easily cause a person to not file a tax return, it doesn’t make them lie. And if she is trying to use ADD to paint herself a victim once she’s caught at criminal behavior, then I say throw the book at her. From this guff about our Founding Fathers she posted on Facebook, she sounds like she’s trying to justify her errors as a defense of liberty. I have great sympathy for her, if her life is a mess because she has difficulty coping. I have none if she wants to blame others for it.
From the article:
“Between 1991 and 2003, she [Magee] filed only one tax return, in 1997, within the required time, the department said. Magee, who has been employed by Hamline for 17 years, told an investigator “she teaches classes on race and religion and is not familiar with tax law,” the complaint states.
However, according to her Hamline biography, tax law was one of the areas she “concentrated in” while in private practice.”
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Sorry, JT, but your ivory tower is showing through. Magee lied to investigators and failed to do what we all grudgingly do every year–pay our own way. IMHO, she’ll get no sympathy from any jury for getting a free ride.
Eleven felony counts for $5,000? Does that include one felony count for each of the eight exemptions she claimed despite being single with no dependents?
why is it that the US govt will imprison us if we don’t pay taxes? Income tax is voluntary… just ask harry reid:
/watch?v=R7mRSI8yWwg
the reality is that the govt will imprison you and even let you die if you don’t pay your taxes, just ask former IRS expert turned whistleblower, sherry peel jackson:
/watch?v=lAqOikgKXCo
There is no law that forces us to pay taxes, but the IRS is a criminal organization just like the fed, and they are more powerful than the president.
wake up sheeple!
While I don’t know the details, a woman recently spent a night in jail for not paying her utility bills — she had an outstanding bill of ~$1200-1500 . (There may be more to the story.)
With the increase of for-profit prisons, maybe we’re moving in the direction of reestablishing prisons for debtors?
It would be interesting to know if Professor Magee was able to file her federal tax returns on time during the same period of time?
Since wilful tax violations by a Minnesota lawyer are serioue matters (subject only to ethics penalties of suspension or disbarment), I suggest that Professor Turley’s minimization of Professor Magee’s alleged misconduct is a perfect example of CLASS BIAS!
Comments anybody?