Law school professor indicted

[Demosthenes]

Go here for full article:

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_ ... ck_check=1

Hamline University law professor charged with state income-tax evasion
Hamline teacher accused of failing to pay, file returns
By Richard Chin
rchin@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 09/09/2009 11:24:43 PM CDT

Hamline University Law School associate professor Robin K. Magee, an expert in criminal law and a frequent critic and commentator on police and justice issues, has allegedly run afoul of the law herself.

Magee, 46, of St. Paul, has been charged in Ramsey County District Court with 11 felony charges of state income-tax evasion, including failure to pay taxes, failure to file tax returns and filing a false or fraudulent tax return, during the tax years 2004-2007.

According to the criminal complaint, a Minnesota Department of Revenue investigation found that Magee filed her Minnesota income-tax return on time only once in the period from 1991 to 2003 and that she failed to timely file returns for 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

In those four years, Magee's wages from Hamline University ranged from $86,872.83 to $112,217.51 a year, according to the complaint.

The amount of taxes owed to the state for 2004-2007, not including penalty and interest, was estimated at $4,938, according to the complaint.

When Magee did file returns, she omitted interest, dividend, capital gains and pension income in the years of 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003, the complaint says.

The complaint also says Magee claimed eight exemptions on her W-4 form, even though she is single and has no dependents.

Magee could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Magee told Revenue Department staff that she has worked at Hamline University for 17 years as a law professor but is not familiar with tax law, according to the complaint.

According to her biography on the Hamline University School of Law Web site, she teaches criminal procedure, criminal law, property, police practices and a seminar on race and law.

But it also says that Magee, a University of Michigan law school graduate, "concentrated in the area of criminal, entertainment and tax law" while in private practice.

[Tax Man]

She went to Meeshigan - what do you expect?

[Number Six]

This may be an impractical suggestion, but how about having a rapid-response team to quickly contact high-income non-filers with correspondence, phone calls, then through supervisors?

This professor must have expended an unbelievable amount of psychic energy in denial about the lie she was living. The tattered remnants of her reputation and the societal fall-out and damage done to her college's reputation will be considerable.

[Prof]

From the Dean:

Dean Lewis Responds to Recent News
As you may have heard by now, a state criminal complaint has been filed against Associate Professor Robin Magee in Ramsey County District Court alleging several state income tax offenses. This is a sudden and disappointing development. While we are sensitive to Professor Magee's rights and her presumption of innocence, we also recognize our primary obligation to provide our students with instruction by law faculty who meet the highest standards of the profession. I will keep you advised as the law school responds to this matter.

Donald M. Lewis, Dean

Hamline University School of Law

[Quixote]

Magee told Revenue Department staff that she has worked at Hamline University for 17 years as a law professor but is not familiar with tax law, according to the complaint.

Even if we take her at her word, so what? When a lawyer says she is not familiar with some aspect of the law, she surely doesn't mean she is completely unaware of it. Even if the reference to tax law in her bio were an error, she is still in a better position than 99.9% of the population to know she had a duty to pay taxes on her income.

[Dezcad]

Magee told Revenue Department staff that she has worked at Hamline University for 17 years as a law professor but is not familiar with tax law, according to the complaint.

Even if we take her at her word, so what? When a lawyer says she is not familiar with some aspect of the law, she surely doesn't mean she is completely unaware of it. Even if the reference to tax law in her bio were an error, she is still in a better position than 99.9% of the population to know she had a duty to pay taxes on her income.

I agree - how does her avowed lack of familiarity explain this:

The complaint also says Magee claimed eight exemptions on her W-4 form, even though she is single and has no dependents.

And is she also unfamiliar with counting?

[LaVidaRoja]

I wonder when/if the shoe will drop on the Federal side. Or was it ONLY her State returns she failed to file??

[rogfulton]

The online ABA Journal also has an article at http://www.abajournal.com/news/law_prof ... utors_say/. It doesn't add very much but is still worth a read.

If her 'severe ADD' claim works (HA!), I will consider using it to avoid writing evaluations for the employees under my supervision.

[Nikki]

Doesn't it stand to reason that an attorney would know her limitations, her lack of expertise in a perticular subject matter area, and would appropriately consult a more experienced practitioner?

Her case has long since failed the smell test, especially if a Federal parallel emerges.

As several of her predecessors in the legal profession have clearly demonstrated, the simple fact that one is an attorney has no direct correlation on compliance with tax laws.

[SteveSy]

Can't beat her to bad....Our Treasury Secretary claims he didn't know he owed 30k in taxes and Rangel who is part of writing the tax laws somehow missed millions in income.

I think missing a whopping 4k over three years is not much to worry about considering....

[Demosthenes]

Rangel didn't report more than $1,000,000 on his disclosure forms, but that isn't tax related.

He did leave off $75,000 in income from his villa, resulting in back taxes of approximately $10,000. Still ugly, but there's no need to exaggerate.

Can't beat her to bad....Our Treasury Secretary claims he didn't know he owed 30k in taxes and Rangel who is part of writing the tax laws somehow missed millions in income.

I think missing a whopping 4k over three years is not much to worry about considering....