Attorney Oscar A. Stilley A Legend in His Own Mind By:
Bill E. Branscum
Copyright 2006 & 2009
"Oscar Stilley's PRA Defense Checkmated
the DOJ and IRS," "Oscar Stilley's
PRA Defense Checkmated the DOJ and IRS," "Oscar
Stilley's PRA Defense Checkmated the DOJ and IRS," "Oscar
Stilley's PRA Defense Checkmated the DOJ and IRS," "Oscar
Stilley's PRA Defense Checkmated the DOJ and IRS," "Oscar
Stilley's PRA Defense Checkmated the DOJ and IRS," . . . blah,
blah, blah
That nonsense is all over the Internet, and the babbling
rabble cannot even write their own ad copy.
There is [or was] an attorney named Oscar Amos Stilley
- at least they got that part right. According to the US Department
of Justice, whether he will continue to practice law, or wind up
being a genuine "jail house lawyer," is anybody's guess.
[Be Sure and See Update 2009 below].
The, "Oscar Stilley's PRA Defense Checkmated the
DOJ and IRS," story relates to his defense of
Robert Lawrence in a tax related case in the Central District of
Illinois, 06-CR-10019. Oscar Stilley, and his Kemosabe sidekick
Lindsey K. Springer, claim to have won that case, and I suppose
they did, but they have been wildly disingenuous as to "how,"
and "why" they won.
Having read "their version," of this remarkable "victory,"
as it is plastered all over the Net, I discussed the matter with
Gerry Brost, the AUSA who handled (and moved to dismiss) the case,
IRS Special Agent Kathy McBride the Case Agent, and defense attorney
Oscar A. Stilley.
Stilley was a wellspring of bubbling enthusiasm, who would have
had me believe that he and Springer had orchestrated a brilliant
defense predicated upon the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), a "thrilling"
development that "promised to bring an end to the
IRS." They had "brilliantly"
asserted that the IRS Form 1040 did not comply with the PRA, and
argued that the PRA had a provision that no government agency could
punish anyone for failing to file a defective form . . . a frivolous
argument that has been circulating around for years, with a remarkable
lack of success in the Courts.
I would like to be able to tell you what Stilley said in response
to the questions I wanted to ask of him, but I had introduced myself
as writing an article for this web site, and I could hear his keyboard
clicking in the background as he talked. For some reason, probably
something he saw on the home page that discomfitted him, Stilley
abruptly cut off his spiel in mid-sentence, having suddenly discovered
that he had something else he had to do.
I really regret that, as I wanted to ask him about the difference
between his version of the story, and the version of the story as
explained in the Judge's Order.
"Additionally, during the telephone hearing
on May 12, 2006, the Government
informed the Court and the Defendant that the Government had
discovered errors in the dollar
amounts set forth in the indictment. The Government orally moved
to amend the indictment
by interlineation. Defense counsel objected and the Court denied
the motion. Later the same
day, the Government moved to dismiss all of the counts against
Lawrence."
So there you have it. According to The Honorable Michael Mihm, United
States District Court Judge, the Paperwork Reduction Act had nothing
to do with the dismissal of this case. Just as the government argued
in their Pleading,
as supported by the Declaration
of IRS Special Agent Kathy McBride, the government discovered that
someone had made a significant math error in preparing the case,
their motion to amend these erroneous calculations was denied, so
they elected to dismiss the charges altogether.
The problem I have with this nonsense is this.
Suppose I find myself forced to play tennis with Andre Kirk Agassi,
and let's further suppose that Andre Agassi has a laughing fit and
falls over dead at the sight of my poor old tired butt on the other
side of the net . . . does that mean that I can promote myself as
a tennis pro, claiming to have killed Agassi with my wicked mean
backhand?
C'mon . . . let's be real.
On the other hand, depending upon your particular reality, I suppose
fantasy land has a wonderful appeal.
One reality is, the US Department of Justice recently objected
to Stilley's involvement in another case saying,
"First, Mr. Stilley is the subject of a criminal
investigation in the Northern District of Oklahoma. See
Exhibit 2. Second, on May 4, 2006, Mr. Stilley was suspended
from the practice of law in the State
of Arkansas, a matter which Mr. Stilley omitted entirely from
his application to appear pro
hac vice in this district."
"Moreover, as to the nature of the ongoing
investigation in the Northern District of Oklahoma, the United
States cannot divulge specific details and certainly cannot
violate the secrecy rules governing matters that may be occurring
before a federal grand jury. However, in light of what is known,
it is clear that Mr. Stilley’s situation may place him
in a "position of choosing whether to help himself or his
client or of pursuing anything less than a zealous appeal on
behalf of his client because of any conflicting personal interest."
Yes indeed, it would be an unfunny, bad thing, to be defended by
an attorney who turned out to be a "snitch." Not much
room for argument there. There are a number of other allegations
related to Stilley's personal and professional integrity in that
document; you may read the government's memo in its entirety
Here.
I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but I should mention that
Lindsey K. Springer is well aware that this PRA "silver bullet"
that he is touting is a dud. He tried to use it in his own case
in the United States District Court, Northern District of Oklahoma,
styled Lindsey K. Springer v. Internal Revenue Service,
06-CV-0110. You may read the Order and judge his success for yourself
Here.
Oracle International
Bill E. Branscum, Investigator
OracleIntL@aol.com
(239) 304-1639
UPDATE
2009: Oscar Stilley, and his pal Lindsey
Springer have been indicted for Conspiracy to Defraud, Tax Evasion,
and Failure to File Tax Returns, and no wonder -- the Laurel and
Hardy of the tax protester movement, these two knuckleheads haven't
filed tax returns since the 1980's. Moreover, Stilley has been using
his position as an attorney to facilitate tax evasion by running
the income they sought to conceal through his law firm's trust account.
One cannot help but wonder if these
guys have had enough of their own Kool-Aid to hire real lawyers,
or if they propose to dazzle the Court with their patented PRA "Silver
Bullet" defense. I suppose they might as well stick to their
guns as, in the end, it isn't likely to make much difference. Intransigent
stooopidity has washed them so far down
the proverbial creek that no amount of smart is likely to be any
help now.
LIndsey "Laurel" Springer
faces a total of 22 years in Federal prison if convicted of all
counts, and Oscar "Hardy" Stilley faces a total of 15
years in Federal prison if convicted of all counts . . . "another
fine mess they've gotten into," but on the bright side,
they won't be selling their Kool-Aid to anyone else anymore.
Predictions? If the Department of Justice
offers them anything at all for saving the government the time and
expense of trial, I would characterize that as a fit of munificent
benevolence that they would do well to take advantage of.
Of course, a good lawyer would probably
recognize, and capitalize upon, the government's Achilles Heel here.
. . in my view, these two are a shoe-in for a successful insanity
defense. Incurable skeptic, and inveterate cynic that I am, if someone
want to argue that these two mopes are incompetent, I would have
to concede that their incompetence is self-evident, and I'm fully
convinced that they are nutz.
