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CO: REP in one's own tax preparer's files

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant had standing to challenge the search of his tax preparer’s office for his tax returns because he has a reasonable expectation of privacy. The warrant as to him was general. People v. Gutierrez, 2009 Colo. LEXIS 1160 (December 14, 2009), Court’s syllabus: The Colorado Supreme Court holds that the trial court properly suppressed evidence obtained pursuant to an unlawful search of defendant Gutierrez's tax returns and supporting documentation, which were found in his client file police seized from his tax preparer's office. First, Gutierrez has standing under the Fourth Amendment to object to a search of his client file. A taxpayer has a reasonable expectation of privacy in his or her tax returns and return information, even when that information is in the custody of a tax preparer...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on December 16, 2009 (boomark / email).