As I previously noted, the Tax Court had a secrecy rule that prevented, in certain circumstances, litigants from knowing what the judge felt the ruling should be. This “star chamber” provision became clear when the Kantar case was decided by the US Supreme Court earlier this year.
Luckily, previously is also the place where that oderous rule has been placed—the junk yard of history. As noted in this article in the Chicago Tribune and this article in the International Herald-Tribune (likely appearing in tomorrow’s New York Times), the rule has been rescinded as a direct result of the Supreme Court’s ruling. However, its’ status as to past cases is unknown.
This is one rule change that is definitely for the better.