United States v. Bowers
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
920 F.2d 220 (1990)

- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Donald and Janet Bowers (defendants) were charged with failure to file their federal income tax returns. To prove that the Bowerses did not pay their taxes, the prosecution (plaintiff) introduced an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) compilation of certificates of assessments and payments that showed who had paid their taxes. The Bowerses were not included in the compilation. The compilation was sponsored at trial by employees at the IRS’s Philadelphia office. The compilation was stored electronically on the IRS’s mainframe computer in West Virginia. The Bowerses were convicted, and they appealed, arguing that the compilation introduced by the prosecution was hearsay.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Hall, J.)
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