The IRS Scandal, Day 618

The Blog of the Legal Times, Feds Take Pro-Israel Group's IRS Suit to DC Circuit:

The U.S. Department of Justice is challenging a Washington federal trial judge’s ruling to keep alive a suit that a pro-Israel advocacy group brought over alleged Internal Revenue Service discrimination.

Lawyers with the DOJ Tax Division on Wednesday filed a notice of appeal with U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, asking the court to review U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's May ruling in favor of Z Street, the plaintiff in the case against the IRS.

Pennsylvania-based Z Street, which advocates for and defends Israel, sued the IRS over what the group claimed was viewpoint discrimination that violated the First Amendment. The organization has claimed that its application for tax-exempt status in 2009 received extra IRS scrutiny due to differing opinions it and the Barack Obama administration have on Israel.

The government argued that the Anti-Injunction Act prohibited Z Street's lawsuit. The law bars cases that seek to restrain the assessment of taxes.

In refusing to dismiss the case, Jackson wrote in an opinion that the group "seeks only to have its application—good or bad—be evaluated using the same standards are criteria that apply to other organizations that the IRS reviews."

(Hat Tip: Ted Seto.)

• The IRS Scandal, Day 617 (Jan. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 616 (Jan. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 615 (Jan. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 614 (Jan. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 613 (Jan. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 612 (Jan. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 611 (Jan. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 610 (Jan. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 609 (Jan. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 608 (Jan. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 607 (Jan. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 606 (Jan. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 605 (Jan. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 604 (Jan. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 603 (Jan. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 602 (Jan. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 601 (Dec. 31, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 501-600 (Sept. 22, 2014-Dec. 30, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 401-500 (June 14, 2014 - Sept. 21,2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 301-400 (Mar. 6, 2014 - June 13, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 201-300 (Nov. 26, 2013 - Mar. 5, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 101-200 (Aug. 18, 2013 - Nov. 25, 2013)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1-100 (May 10, 2013 - Aug. 17, 2013)