Ch J Maurice B (“Mighty Mo”) Foley, nearing the close of his illustrious and industrious tenure as Capo di tutti, has set forth amended Rules for comment. I’ll reserve my detailed comments for another day; but do note that the deadline for getting your bouquets and buckets to the Ch. Clk. Ms. Servoss at The Glasshouse in the City of the Stateless, is 5/25/22, not later than 4:30 p.m., and that means “…standard time in the location mentioned except when advanced time is substituted therefor by law.” Proposed Rule 3(i).

The Great Chieftain of the Jersey Boys will have to adapt his mantra that Tax Court’s purpose is “to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determination of every case.” Now Rule 1 no longer says Tax Court “shall” do so, but that it “should” do so. Of course, Ch J Mighty Mo is quick to assert that the change is merely to conform to FRCP 1, and no substantive change is intended. Indeed it does so conform, but wasn’t the imperative rather than precatory language better?

I respectfully request Frantic Frank to favor us all with his comments; if he is agreeable, I’ll print them in extenso, unedited and without any comment from me.

But I do want to cough the “modest cough of the minor poet,” as a much more celebrated writer than I put it.

See Proposed Amendment to Rule 20, at pp. 5-6, and pp. 113-114. Finally, we have a Form 6 that almost does the job. We have a check-the-box form that answers all my many objections. Only one (count it, one) quibble: instead of “(please mark the appropriate option)”, the instruction should read “(YOU MUST CHECK ONE).”

Still, I thank Ch J Mighty Mo for his efforts.

And I’m going to have a wee Vodka Gibson this evening to celebrate: I feel like we’ve knocked a chip off the Rock of Svithjod.