United States v. Aeroquip Corp.

41 F.R.D. 441, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10123, 1967 Trade Cas. (CCH) 71,972
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedDecember 15, 1966
DocketCrim. No. 41312
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 41 F.R.D. 441 (United States v. Aeroquip Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Aeroquip Corp., 41 F.R.D. 441, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10123, 1967 Trade Cas. (CCH) 71,972 (E.D. Mich. 1966).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART CORPORATE DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO INSPECT GRAND JURY TESTIMONY OF OFFICERS, DIRECTORS and EMPLOYEES.

MACHROWICZ, District Judge.

This is a criminal anti-trust matter which was initiated on January 14, 1965 upon the filing of an indictment against seven corporate defendants, a trade association and four natural defendants charging an unlawful conspiracy in restraint of trade. Motions were made by each of the corporate defendants to inspect the grand jury testimony of their respective officers, directors and employees, pursuant to Rule 16(a) (3) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. These motions were opposed by the government primarily on the grounds that Rule 16(a) (3) did not apply to corporate defendants. Briefs were filed and the matter came on for hearing, at which time counsel arguing the motion on behalf of the corporate defendants stated his intention to expand the motions as [443]*443filed to include a claim of “particularized need.”

The first question presented by these motions is whether Rule 16(a) (3) applies to corporate defendants. This provision together with other amendments to Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, made effective July 1, 1966, vastly enlarged the scope of pretrial discovery available on criminal matters. Rule 16(a) and (b), as amended, reads as follows:

(a) Defendant’s Statements; Reports of Examinations and Tests; Defendant’s Grand Jury Testimony. Upon motion of a defendant the court may order the attorney for the government to permit the defendant, to inspect and copy or photograph any relevant (1) written or recorded statements or confessions made by the defendant, or copies thereof, within the possession, custody or control of the government, the existence of which is known, or by the exercise of due diligence may become known, to the attorney for the government, (2) results or reports of physical or mental examinations, and of scientific tests or experiments made in connection with the particular case, or copies thereof, within the possession, custody or control of the government, the existence of which is known, or by the exercise of due diligence may become known, to the attorney for the government, and (3) recorded testimony of the defendant before a grand jury.
(b) Other Books, Papers, Documents, Tangible Objects or Places. Upon motion of a defendant the court may order the attorney for the government to permit the defendant to inspect and copy or photograph books, papers, documents, tangible objects, buildings or places, or copies or portions thereof, which are within the possession, custody or control of the government, upon a showing of materiality to the preparation of his defense and that the request is reasonable. Except as provided in subdivision (a) (2), this rule does not authorize the discovery or inspection of reports, memoranda, or other internal government documents made by government agents in connection with the investigation or prosecution of the case, or of statements made by government witnesses or prospective government witnesses (other than the defendant) to agents of the government except as provided in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3500.

It is evident from the above-quoted language of the rule itself that its applicability or non-applicability to corporate defendants is not unequivocally set forth. The Advisory Committee Note accompanying amended Rule 16 is not helpful in resolving this particular question. It reads in pertinent part:

The court is authorized to order the attorney for the government to permit the defendant to inspect and copy or photograph three different types of material: * * *
(3) Relevant recorded testimony of a defendant before a grand jury. The policy which favors pretrial disclosure to a defendant of his statements to government agents also supports, pretrial disclosure of his testimony before a grand jury. Courts, however, have tended to require a showing of special circumstances before ordering such disclosure. See, e. g., United States v. Johnson, 215 F.Supp. 300 (D.Md.1963). Disclosure is required only where the statement has been recorded and hence can be transcribed.

It should also be observed that the cloak of secrecy which has historically surrounded grand jury proceedings has not been abrogated but is presently codified in Rule 6(e) which reads as follows:

Secrecy of Proceedings and Disclosure. Disclosure of matters occurring before the grand jury other than its deliberations and the vote of any juror may be made to the attorneys for the government for use in the performance of their duties. Otherwise a juror, attorney, interpreter, stenographer, op[444]*444erator of a recording device, or any typist who transcribes recorded testimony may disclose matters occurring before the grand jury only when so directed by the court preliminarily to or in connection with a judicial proceeding or when permitted by the court at the request of a defendant upon a showing that grounds may exist for a motion to dismiss the indictment because of matters occurring before the grand jury. * * *

This rule requires that disclosure of grand jury proceedings to anyone other than government attorneys may be made only pursuant to a court order. Rule 16 (a) (3) authorizes the court to order disclosure to a defendant of his grand jury testimony as a matter of right, in addition to other circumstances under which a court would be authorized to lift the cloak of grand jury secrecy.

Although the question of whether Rule 16(a) (3) applies to corporate defendants can be simply stated, it is not susceptible of a correspondingly simple answer. Defendants cite the recent cases of Dennis v. United States, 384 U.S. 855, 86 S.Ct. 1840, 16 L.Ed.2d 973 (1966) and Nat’l Dairy Products Corp. v. United States, 384 U.S. 883, 86 S.Ct. 1913, 16 L.Ed.2d 995 (1966) in support of their motions filed herein. The Dennis case involved conspiracy charges against several natural defendants who sought and were denied access to the grand jury testimony of government witnesses after they had testified at a second trial. (A previous trial resulting in defendants’ conviction had been set aside, and the same witnesses who had testified therein were called again to testify.) The Supreme Court held that defendants had made a very substantial showing of particularized need under the circumstances and hence were entitled to inspect the requested grand jury testimony for purposes of impeachment and to do so while the witnesses were available for cross-examination. A similar situation was involved in the National Dairy case where the Supreme Court vacated the judgment and remanded for further consideration in the light of the Dennis decision. It might be noted that the moving party in National Dairy was a corporate defendant which sought the grand jury testimony, again for purposes of impeachment, of its officers and employees who had already testified at the trial on behalf of the government.

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41 F.R.D. 441, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10123, 1967 Trade Cas. (CCH) 71,972, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-aeroquip-corp-mied-1966.