Standing Akimbo, LLC, et al. v. United States
AdministrativeLaw FourthAmendment FifthAmendment DueProcess CriminalProcedure TradeSecret Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri
Does Colorado's state-legal cannabis sales violate the Controlled Substances Act?
QUESTIONS PRESENTED The Petitioners allegedly operate a Colorado statelegal cannabis dispensary and sold cannabis in accordance with state law. The IRS claims that although the Petitioners are operating legally under state law, they are unlawful drug traffickers under federal law. The IRS seeks to apply 26 U.S.C. §280E against the Petitioners, to deny all deductions and credits in response to their purportedly unlawful drug trafficking — taxing something other than net income as income. The State of Colorado compels those who sell licensed cannabis pursuant to state law to provide the state plant tracking information in return for a promise of confidentiality. The IRS summonsed the confidential information from the State of Colorado in report form after the Petitioners claimed Fifth Amendment privilege from preparing the reports themselves. The IRS claims it needs the confidential information to determine the proper tax under §280E, but reserves all rights to share the incriminating information with federal law enforcement and has the power to do so. Given the above, the questions presented are: 1. Under the Supremacy Clause, does Colorado’s expressly state-legal sales of cannabis violate the Controlled Substances Act? 2. Does 26 U.S.C. §280E violate the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution by taxing more than constitutional income? ii QUESTIONS PRESENTED Continued 3. Does the Fourth Amendment protect taxpayers from having confidential information summonsed by the IRS for the purpose of determining unlawful drug trafficking with full rights to share the information to federal law enforcement authorities? 4. Did the process used by the Tenth Circuit, weighing evidence, and giving all inferences to the moving party, all purportedly under Rule 56, Fed.R.Civ.P., violate the rule?