James v. United States

Mr. Justice Black,

whom

Mr. Justice Douglas joins, concurring in part and dissenting in part.

On February 25, 1946, fifteen years ago, this Court, after mature consideration, and in accordance with what at that time represented the most strongly supported judicial view, held, in an opinion written by Mr. Justice Murphy to which only one Justice dissented, that money secretly taken by an embezzler for his own use did not constitute a taxable gain to him under the federal income tax laws. Commissioner v. Wilcox, 327 U. S. 404. The Treasury Department promptly accepted this ruling in a bulletin…