United States v. Doe
79 L. Ed. 2d 552 · Supreme Court of the United States · 1984
Facts
A grand jury investigating corruption in county and municipal contracts served five subpoenas on the owner of several sole proprietorships. The subpoenas demanded various business records, including telephone records, bank account records, and general business ledgers, covering periods from 1976/1977. The government conceded that the materials sought were or might be incriminating. The respondent moved to quash the subpoenas, asserting his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
Issue
Does the Fifth Amendment privilege against compelled self-incrimination apply to the contents of a sole proprietorship's business records, and does it apply to the act of producing those records in response to a grand jury subpoena?
Holding
The Court held that the contents of voluntarily prepared business records of a sole proprietorship are not protected by the Fifth Amendment. However, the act of producing such documents may be privileged if it has testimonial and incriminating aspects, and thus cannot be compelled without a statutory grant of use immunity.
Rule
The Fifth Amendment protects against compelled self-incrimination, but not against the production of voluntarily created documents, so the *contents* of a sole proprietorship's business records are generally not privileged. However, the *act of producing* subpoenaed documents can have testimonial aspects (tacitly conceding existence, possession, and authenticity) that may be incriminating, thereby triggering Fifth Amendment protection. If the act of production is privileged, the government can compel it only by formally granting statutory use immunity, which protects the individual from the use of the act of production against them. Courts cannot grant constructive use immunity.
Read the full opinion on CourtListener
Case brief last reviewed . Prepared by CaseReader from the published opinion.