Whitehouse Hotel Ltd. Partnership v. Commissioner , 615 F.3d 321 ( 2010 )

EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge,

concurring in part:

I concur in Part I, Part II.A.1, Part II.A.3.b, and Part III of the court’s opinion. The remaining parts of the court’s opinion, which describe and characterize issues that we ultimately do not decide, are unnecessary to resolve this case and have no bearing on the judgment. Federal courts are only permitted to rule upon an actual “case or controversy,” and lack jurisdiction to render merely advisory opinions beyond the rulings necessary to resolve a dispute. See SEC v. Medical Committee for Human Rights, 404 U.S. 403, 407, 92 S.Ct. 577, 30 L.Ed.2d 560 (1972); Hayburn’s Case, 2 U.S. 408, 2 Dall. 409, 1 L.Ed. 436 (1792), as interpreted in Muskrat v. United States, 219 U.S. 346, 351-53, 31 S.Ct. 250, 55 L.Ed. 246 (1911); see also 28 U.S.C. § 46(b), (c) (2010) (stating that panels shall hear “cases and controversies”). Whether or not the Tax Court finds the extended discussion helpful does not change the fact that it is dicta and amounts to an impermissible advisory opinion.