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A difficulty with Mr. Jones’s wholesale approach, and the
reason we believe that he intentionally abused the judicial
process, is that, in taking that approach, Mr. Jones violated the
well-known duty of an attorney before this Court to insure that
there is merit to every case that he brings before the Court.
That duty is imposed on Mr. Jones both by our Rules and by the
ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (Model Rules), which, by
Rule 201(a), govern his practice before this Court.4
In pertinent part, Rule 33(b) provides:
(b) Effect of Signature: The signature of counsel
* * * constitutes a certificate by the signer that the
signer has read the pleading; that, to the best of the
signer's knowledge, information, and belief formed
after reasonable inquiry, it is well grounded in fact
and is warranted by existing law or a good faith
argument for the extension, modification, or reversal
of existing law; and that it is not interposed for any
improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause
unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of
litigation. * * * If a pleading is signed in violation
of this Rule, the Court, upon motion or upon its own
initiative, may impose upon the person who signed it *
* * an appropriate sanction, which may include an order
to pay to the other party or parties the amount of the
3(...continued)
made the same probabilistic argument in Davis v. Commissioner,
T.C. Memo. 2007-201.
4 The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has held
that a showing of objective bad faith (i.e., recklessness or
extreme negligence) is all that is necessary to impose costs on
an attorney under sec. 6673(a)(2). Johnson v. Commissioner, 289
F.3d 452, 456 (7th Cir. 2002), affg. 116 T.C. 111 (2001). If Mr.
Jones were to claim a lack of familiarity with our rules of
practice and the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct, we
would conclude that he acted recklessly in representing
petitioners before the Court in ignorance of applicable rules.
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Last modified: November 10, 2007