United States v. Maloney

37 F.R.D. 441, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9952
District Court, W.D. Pennsylvania·Decided June 1, 1965·No. Cr. No. 64-415·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

WEBER, District Judge.

Defendant is indicted for income tax evasion for the years 1958 through 1963. On his motion for a Bill of Particulars the Government stated that its prosecution was based upon specific items of omitted income and listed the following witnesses to be produced to testify that they paid money to the defendant: Anthony M. Grosso, Henry H. Katz, Meyer Sigal, Hyman Schwartz, and Marvin D. Walkow. Next, the defendant moved to have the United States Attorney and Assistant United States Attorney withdraw their appearances for the Government because the defendant proposed to call them as witnesses for the defendant to testify as to what inducements, promises or threats were made to the- listed government witnesses in an attempt to [443]*443■secure their testimony, since all were either under arrest, appealing convictions, or awaiting sentences upon convictions in this Court. That motion was denied by this Court as premature before trial, and subject to control of the trial judge. (241 F.Supp. 49, 50)

The present matter arises because the defendant has now served subpoenas duces tecum upon the United States Attorney, the First Assistant United States Attorney, the District Director of Internal Revenue, and the Chief of Intelligence of the Internal Revenue Service for the District.

The duces tecum provision of the subpoenas served on the United States Attorney states:

“and bring with you all statements, memoranda, reports, correspondence, Grand Jury Minutes, pertaining to the persons named below, reports of the Internal Revenue Service, reports of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,'and similar data relating to the defendant, Lawrence J. Maloney, and the following named persons: Anthony M. Grosso, Henry H. Katz, Meyer Sigal, Hyman Schwartz, and Marvin D. Walkow.”

The duces tecum clause of the subpoena of the First Assistant United States Attorney is substantially similar.

Two subpoenas were served on John H. Bingler, District Director, Internal Revenue Service, the duces tecum part of which read:

“and bring with you all statements, investigative files, work sheets, memoranda, summaries of statements, reports of the Intelligence Division and/or Fraud Section for each of the following named persons: Anthony M. Grosso, Henry H. Katz, Meyer Sigal, Hyman Schwartz, and Marvin D. Walkow, as well as the original income tax returns for the years 1958 through 1963, inclusive, and gambling stamp registrations and excise tax returns for lottery or gambling operations for each of the above named individuals.”
and
“bring with you the files and records in connection with the investigation of the Internal Revenue Service including the Intelligence Division and Fraud Section, concerning the defendant Lawrence J. Maloney.”

The duces tecum section of the subpoena served upon Cresson O. Davis, Chief of Intelligence for the Internal Revenue District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, reads:

“and bring with you all statements; memoranda; reports; correspondence, investigative files; work sheets; summaries of statements; and transcripts of statements of all witnesses interviewed in connection with income tax returns of Lawrence J. Maloney or such documents wherein any reference is made to the defendant Lawrence J. Maloney, by either the witness or agents of the Internal Revenue Service, or any other agent of the United States Government.”

The Government has moved to quash the above subpoenas duces tecum, its motion being directed solely to the portion of the subpoenas which purports to command the production of the various documents as set forth therein. The Government alleges that the command of the subpoenas is not limited solely to the production of evidentiary materials; that the command of the subpoenas requires the production of materials not subject to subpoena; that the command of the subpoenas is too broad and sweeping ; that it is vague and unspecific and that the command of the subpoenas would include the work product of the United States Attorney.

At the argument on the motion to quash, counsel for the defendant attempted to compare the scope of the discovery provisions of the Federal Rules [444]*444of Criminal Procedure with those of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. We are sure that counsel’s remark was confined to the similarity of provisions of Rule 17(c) Fed.R.Crim.P. with Rule 45 (b) of the Fed.R.Civ.P. relating to the production of documents and the requirement of showing good cause therefor, as was specifically noted in his brief. Certainly defendant would resist attempts by the Government to invoke the discovery provisions of the Civil Procedure Rules as to him. The criminal procedure is strictly limited.

The defendant is entitled to secure by subpoena from the prosecution those materials to which he is specifically entitled by statute or the Fed.R.Crim.P.

With respect to Grand Jury proceedings, the matter is under the strict control of the court at the time of trial, and may be disclosed upon a showing of necessity to the court. The matter is covered by Rule 6(a) of the Fed. R.Crim.P., and the record of such proceedings is not subject to subpoena. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States, 360 U.S. 395, 79 S.Ct. 1237, 3 L.Ed.2d 1323 (1959); United States v. Boyance, 329 F.2d 372 (3rd Cir., 1964) cert denied 377 U.S. 965, 84 S.Ct. 1645, 12 L.Ed.2d 736 (1965).

With respect to the statement or report in the possession of the United States made by a government witness or prospective government witness to an agent of the government, the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500(a) provides that it shall not be subject of subpoena, discovery or inspection until such witness has testified on direct examination in the trial of the case. Section (b) of the above cited act provides that after a witness has been called and has testified on direct examination, the Court shall, upon motion of the defendant, order the United States to produce any statement of the witness in the possession of the United States which relates to the subject matter as to which the witness has testified, (emphasis supplied). Section (c) provides for inspection by the Court on a claim that the statement or portions thereof do not relate to the testimony given by the witness and the excision of the non-related' material under the control of the Court. This is the exclusive method for obtaining such prior statements.

“ * * * Statements of a Government witness * * * which cannot be produced under 18 U.S.C. § 3500, cannot be produced at all.”' Palermo v. United States, 360 U.S. 343 at page 351, 79 S.Ct. 1217, at page 1224, 3 L.Ed.2d 1287 (1959).

This matter must thus be controlled at trial, it is not the subject of subpoena. As the Supreme Court stated in United States v. Palermo, cit. supra, 360 U.S., at p. 353, 79 S.Ct. at p. 1225:

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United States v. Maloney, 37 F.R.D. 441, 1965 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9952 (W.D. Pa. 1965).

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