Essays
Article III vs. Article I Courts: What Kind of Authority?
The federal courts are not a single category. Article III courts exercise 'the judicial Power of the United States' under structural protections the Constitution requires. Article I courts are creatures of Congress with fixed-term judges and statutorily-defined jurisdiction. The distinction is consequential — and underexamined.
W2 Wages, Cost Basis, and the Asymmetry the Tax Code Won't Explain
The claim that wages aren't 'income' has been rejected by every federal court that's heard it. But buried inside the losing argument is a genuine observation: labor is the only factor of production denied a cost basis. That asymmetry is real, indefensible, and worth understanding on its own terms.
How Courts Respond: The Sanction Regime and the Doctrine of Non-Engagement
When litigants raise alternate tax theories, federal courts don't just rule against them — they refuse to reason about them. This essay examines the Crain doctrine, §6673 penalties, and what 'frivolous' actually means in practice.
What "Income" Means — and Why a Century of Case Law Hasn't Settled It
The Sixteenth Amendment uses 'income' without defining it. Eisner v. Macomber tried. Commissioner v. Glenshaw Glass tried again. Neither fully succeeded. The resulting ambiguity is not a conspiracy — it's a real doctrinal gap with real consequences.