United States of America David E. Mitchell, Revenue Office of the Internal Revenue Service v. Roger L. Sharp

PHILLIPS, Circuit Judge.

The fifth amendment exists, in part, to “assure that an individual is not compelled to produce evidence which later may be used against him as an accused in a criminal action.” Maness v. Meyers, 419 U.S. 449, 461, 95 S.Ct. 584, 592, 42 L.Ed.2d 574 (1975). This case raises the question whether the fifth amendment provided a taxpayer with a basis for refusing to answer questions propounded by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the course of an investigation of possible civil liability. The district court held that it did not provide that protection and ordered the…