In Re Grand Jury Subpoenas Duces Tecum, Etc.

391 F. Supp. 991, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13098
CourtDistrict Court, D. Rhode Island
DecidedMarch 31, 1975
DocketMisc. 75-50
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 391 F. Supp. 991 (In Re Grand Jury Subpoenas Duces Tecum, Etc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Rhode Island primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Grand Jury Subpoenas Duces Tecum, Etc., 391 F. Supp. 991, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13098 (D.R.I. 1975).

Opinion

OPINION

DAY, District Judge.

The controversy presently before the Court concerns itself with the validity of two grand jury subpoenas duces tecum which were issued by the Clerk of this Court on March 7, 1975, pursuant to an application filed on behalf of the United States of America by the United States *993 Attorney for the District of Rhode Island. Said subpoenas duces tecuni commanded the production of certain designated books and records of the M. G. Allen and Associates, Inc. 1 before a federal grand jury in Providence, Rhode Island, on March 11,1975.

Specifically, the grand jury subpoenas herein involved directed Mr. Max G. Allen, the President of M. G. Allen & Associates, Inc. and Mr. Joseph F. Farrell, the Vice-President of said corporation, to produce the following corporate books and records before the Federal Grand Jury: 2

1. Bank statements and cancelled checks of M. G. Allen & Associates, Inc., including payroll checks for all checking accounts, open and/or closed, for the period October 1, 1970, through December 31,1973; and
2. All invoices and bills and other supporting documents justifying entries to the cash disbursements journal for the period October 1, 1970, through December 31, 1973.

This matter is presently before the Court on a motion to quash the two aforementioned grand jury subpoenas duces tecum. Said instant motion to quash was filed on March 11, 1975 by Messrs. Allen and Farrell on behalf of their corporate employer.

The movants have proffered three grounds upon which they claim entitlément to an order quashing the two subpoenas duces tecum in question. First, the movants aver that the two subpoenas herein involved are invalid and unreasonable because (1) they are over broad on their face, that is, the descriptions of the books and records to be produced are so broad as to be unreasonable and oppressive, and (2) there has been no showing by the Government that all of the subpoenaed documents have some relevance to the grand jury’s investigation of an offense within its jurisdiction. Second, the movants contend that the two subpoenas in question are “repetitious and harassing” insofar as they command the production of documents and records, the great bulk of which had previously been voluntarily turned over to Internal Revenue Agents by Mr. Farrell. Third, the movants argue that any enforced compliance with that part of the subpoenas herein involved calling for the production of “all invoices and bills and other supporting documents justifying entries to the cash disbursements journal” would be

“unreasonable and oppressive in that loss of custody of such records would interfere with the company’s conduct of extensive litigation, as more fully set out in the attached affidavit of attorney Charles J. McGovern ” 3

Consideration of the merits of these arguments follows immediately below.

*994 REASONABLENESS OF THE GRAND JURY SUBPOENAS

This Court has previously placed its imprimatur on the well settled, almost proverbial, doctrine that federal courts have the jurisdiction to quash unreasonable and oppressive federal grand jury subpoenas. See In re Grand Jury Subpoenas Duces Tecum, Docket Number C. A. 75-191 (D.R.I. 12/27/74); Rule 17(c), Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure; Hale v. Henkel, 201 U.S. 43, 26 S.Ct. 370, 50 L.Ed. 652 (1906); Oklahoma Press Publishing Co. v. Walling, 327 U.S. 186, 66 S.Ct. 494, 90 L.Ed. 614 (1946); Schwimmer v. United States, 232 F.2d 855 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 352 U.S. 833, 77 S.Ct. 48, 1 L.Ed.2d 52 (1956); United States v. Gurule, 437 F.2d 239 (10th Cir.), cert. denied sub nom, Baker v. United States, 403 U.S. 904, 91 S.Ct. 2202, 29 L.Ed.2d 679 (1971) ; Schultz v. Yeager, 293 F.Supp. 794 (D.N.J.), aff’d, 403 F.2d 639 (3rd Cir.), cert. denied, 394 U.S. 961, 89 S.Ct. 1309, 22 L.Ed.2d 562 (1969); In re Grand Jury Subpoena Duces Tecum, etc., 203 F.Supp. 575 (S.D.N.Y.1961); In re Grand Jury Subpoena Duces Tecum, 342 F.Supp. 709 (D.Md.1972). Additionally, this Court has previously recognized that federal grand jury subpoenas which are over broad, and/or which command the production of documents having no proven relevance to a legitimate 4 grand jury investigation, may be considered unreasonable and oppressive. See In re Grand Jury Subpoenas Duces Tecum, supra, at p. 8; United States v. Dionisio, 410 U.S. 1, 93 S.Ct. 764, 35 L.Ed.2d 67 (1972) ; In re Horowitz, 482 F.2d 72 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 867, 94 S.Ct. 64, 38 L.Ed.2d 86 (1973); Schwimmer v. United States, supra; In re Grand Jury Subpoena Duces Tecum Addressed to Corrado Bros., Inc., 367 F.Supp. 1126 (D.Del.1973).

In the In re Grand Jury Subpoenas Duces Tecum ease this Court adopted a three-part test to be utilized in determining whether or not federal grand jury subpoenas duces tecum are unreasonable and oppressive. Specifically, this tripartite test was set forth as follows:

“ . . . there are three components, so-called, which this Court must consider in measuring the reasonableness of the seven aforementioned grand jury subpoenas. These three components are:
“ . . . (1) The subpoena may command only the production of things relevant to the investigation being pursued; (2) the specification of things to be produced must be made with reasonable particularity; and (3) production of records covering only a reasonable period of time may be required . . . ” United States v. Gurule, supra, [437 F.2d] at p. 241; see In re Grand Jury Subpoena Duces Tecum, 342 F.Supp. 709 (D.Md.1972); In re Grand Jury Subpoena Duces Tecum, etc., 203 F.Supp. 575 (S.D.N.Y.1961).” In re Grand Jury Subpoena Duces Tecum, supra, at p. 9.

As a final preliminary to an analysis as to whether or not the two grand jury subpoenas herein involved satisfy this three-part test, it must be noted that a presumption of regularity attaches to all grand jury subpoenas duces tecum. See In re Lopreato, 511 F.2d 1150 (1st Cir. 1975); In re Grand Jury Proceedings, Jacqueline Schofield, Witness, 486 F.2d 85 (3rd Cir.

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Bluebook (online)
391 F. Supp. 991, 1975 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13098, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-grand-jury-subpoenas-duces-tecum-etc-rid-1975.