Ernest P. Lampert Delphine Lampert Robert J. Burns John P. Thorne v. United States of America, Manual Peinado v. United States of America, Lawrence J. Figur v. United States

854 F.2d 335 62 A.F.T.R.2d 88 -5403, 57 USLW 2143 , 88-2 USTC P 9463 Ernest P. LAMPERT; Delphine Lampert; Robert J. Burns; John P. Thorne, Plaintiffs/Appellants, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant/Appellee. Manual PEINADO, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant/Appellee. Lawrence J. FIGUR, Plaintiff/Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Defendant/Appellee. Nos. 87-2022, 87-2395 and 87-2396. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted April 12, 1988. Decided Aug. 12, 1988. Montie S. Day and Jon R. Vaught of Day Law Corp., Oakland, Cal., for plaintiffs-appellants. William S. Rose, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen., and Mary F. Clark, Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for defendant-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (87-2022, 87-2395 and 87-2396). Before SKOPIL and FARRIS, * Circuit Judges, and BURNS, ** District Judge. SKOPIL, Circuit Judge: 1 We must decide in these consolidated appeals whether press releases by government officials, relating to public judicial proceedings, constitute unauthorized disclosures of "tax return information" in violation of 26 U.S.C. Sec. 6103 (1982) of…