It’s only a couple days short of a year (hi, Judge Holmes) since Tonia L. Hartman, Docket No. 18106-24, filed 9/29/25, made her debut on this my blog. See my blogpost “Six Decades of Practice,” 10/2/24. It was Tonia’s debut as a protester; she apparently tried another one later (see infra, as my expensive colleagues would say), but one was enough for me.

A year ago I said “(I) understand the frustrations and anger; the present system is deeply flawed. But the cure is not effected by making a fruitless protest that only worsens your situation by invoking Section 6673, although STJ Panuthos spares the rod this time.”

Apparently Tonia doesn’t read, or if she does she doesn’t heed, this my blog, because CSTJ Zachary S. (“High-Rise”) Fried brushes off her protester jive without even quoting same, just citing Crain, Wnuck, and Waltner. Then he hits Tonia with a $2K Section 6673 chop, seasoned with a warning.

“In previous cases, filed at Docket Nos. 1713-24 and 9513-24, she has been warned that positions similar to the position taken in this case are groundless, and her arguments frivolous. We therefore will impose a penalty of $2,000 pursuant to section 6673(a)(1) on petitioner. We again warn her that if she does not abandon these misguided positions in future filings before this Court, a greater penalty may be imposed.” Order, at p. 3.