Notice Setting Case for Trial
Sometime after the close of your Appeals Office meeting you will receive a from the court a Notice Setting Case for Trial. Tax Court judges travel a circuit of cities throughout the year where they hold trials. When the road show arrives in your area, it usually stays a week or two. The period of time Tax Court is in town is called “the trial session.” The first day of the session is the “Calendar Call” when the judge goes through the list of cases and schedules them for trial during the session. You must be there if you want to be scheduled. No-shows lose automatically. Most cases don’t go to trial. Last minute settlements and no-shows take care of that. If the list isn’t too long, it’s possible they will have a few trials in the afternoon of that first day, but generally trials begin the next day and continue through the week. At the Calendar Call, you will be assigned your day and time in court. Your Notice Setting Case for Trial also contains forms and instructions concerning what to do as the session approaches. Pay particular attention to the Standing Pretrial Orders. In these orders the judge outlines the general rules for running the trial and entering evidence into the record. The first line in the order for my first trial instructed us to immediately start working on ...
