January 16 2008 U.S. Supreme Court Opinions
On January 16, 2008, the Court issued two opinions:
In Knight v. Commissioner, the Court held that a trust is bound to a limitation of deduction for investment advice fees to 2% of the adjusted gross income of the trust. The exception to such limitation existing for trusts – where the fees in question relate to trust administration and would not have been incurred were the property not held in trust—did not apply, as advisory fees could be incurred even if the property were not in trust. 23 U.S.C. 63(d); 67. The Court noted that the burden is on the taxpayer to show that an exception applies, and here, the trust had not shown that it is unusual for an individual to seek investment advice.
Roberts drafted the unanimous opinion.
In New York State Bd. of Elections v. Lopez Torres, in which concurrence in the outcome was unanimous, the Court upheld New York’s convention system for determining party nominees for the state judiciary. The Court reiterated both that a political party has associational rights, and that such rights may be circumscribed by the state where the state gives the party a role in the electoral process, such as allowing the party nominees to appear on the ballot without following other requirements. However, merely because a state may require either primaries or conventions for the party nominee to appear on the ballot, does not mean that the state must require one or the other.
Scalia write the majority opinion; Stevens and Kennedy each wrote concurring opinions.
