Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/262/151/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 20:34:52+00:00

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Justia › US Law › US Case Law › US Supreme Court › Volume 262 › Essgee Co. v. Hanclaire Trading Corp.
1. Review of orders of the district court in special proceedings in which no jury can intervene is by appeal, and not by writ of error. P. 262 U. S. 152.
2. In view of provisions of the Act of September 6, 1916, rendering mistakes in proceeding by writ of error instead of appeal, or vice versa, immaterial from the standpoint of jurisdiction, the practice of adopting both methods through abundant caution is discouraged. Id.
3. A corporation is not protected by the Fourth and Fifth Amendments from producing its books and records before a federal grand jury engaged in investigating its conduct in relation to the federal criminal laws. P. 262 U. S. 155.
4. The lawful effect of a subpoena duces tecum addressed to a corporation is not disturbed by failure to put its officers who produce the papers on the stand. P. 262 U. S. 157.
5. A claim of irregularity in not calling such officers before the grand jury held to have been waived by their conduct. Id.
6. An officer of a corporation having custody of its books and paper cannot object to producing them upon the ground that they may disclose his own guilt. P. 262 U. S. 158.
Review of orders of the district court denying petitions for the return of books and papers produced under a subpoena duces tecum.
These are appeals and writs of error to review the action of the district court in denying petitions of the two companies, the Essgee Company of China and the Hanclaire Trading Corporation, praying that the books and papers produced by an officer of the two companies, in response to a duces tecum issued to them by order of the federal grand jury, be returned to the petitioners, on the ground that the process issued and the detention of the books by the government were and are in violation of their rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the federal Constitution.
which no jury can intervene. It likens itself in its appellate character to a review of cases in equity or in admiralty or of an order upon a writ of habeas corpus in which issues of facts are triable to the court, and in which the review may properly involve a reexamination by the reviewing court of the whole record and of the findings of the court upon both the law and the evidence therein. Since the passage of the Act of September 6, 1916, entitled an act to amend the Judicial Code (39 Stat. 726, c. 448, § 4), which provides that no court having power to review a judgment or decree passed by another shall dismiss a writ of error solely because an appeal should have been taken, or dismiss an appeal because a writ should have been sued out, but that, when such mistake of error occurs, it shall disregard the same and take the action which would be appropriate if the proper appellate procedure had been followed, the distinction is not important from the standpoint of the jurisdiction of this Court. In the interest, however, of orderly procedure, economy in time of both courts, and in the making up and printing of the record, counsel should make every effort to select the proper procedure in review and not duplicate methods out of an abundant caution which the act of 1916 makes unnecessary.
books and papers called for and produce them at the federal courthouse. The subpoena was served by the United States marshal for the District. He was accompanied by three other government officials who, it was charged, without authority, examined and took away to the courthouse other books and papers not included in the list set forth in the duces tecum. This incident was made an issue in the affidavits; but it is evident from reading the record and the admission of counsel that we are not concerned with any such records and papers, but only with those which were produced by Kramer for the two companies in response to the duces tecum. Schratter, in his affidavit and petition, claims that, under the subpoena, some papers belonging to him individually were taken, but an examination of the list of records and papers produced shows that the only personal paper produced by Kramer was the personal tax return of Schratter, which he does not assert was in any way relevant to the charges, or in any degree incriminating as to him. Kramer and Schratter brought the records and papers called for by the subpoena to a room in the courthouse and deposited them on a table, where the district attorney found them and took charge of them. Neither Schratter nor Kramer was then called before the grand jury, but they were both at once arrested upon warrants for violation of the importing laws. They testified that they did not see the district attorney when he took the records and papers, and that Kramer demanded a return of them and protested against their detention. Evidence to the contrary is offered by the government witnesses, but we do not regard the issue as material.
which had in the meantime been found against the two corporations and himself. Meantime, Kramer, after much solicitation on his part, was given an opportunity to testify to the grand jury and to present to them other records and papers which he voluntarily produced. He was not indicted. After Schratter's return and Kramer's escape from indictment, the two corporations and Schratter filed the petition, denial of which by the district court is now before us for review.
authority of the national government where the corporate activities are in the domain subject to the powers of Congress."
Hale v. Henkel, 201 U. S. 43, and Wheeler v. United States, 226 U. S. 478, are to the same point.
"But there is no unreasonable search and seizure where a writ, suitably specific and properly limited in its scope, calls for the production of documents which, as against their lawful owner to whom the writ is directed, the party procuring its issuance is entitled to have produced."
Objection is made that neither Kramer nor Schratter was called before the grand jury when they produced the books and papers in response to the duces tecum. That was not necessary. The subpoena only summoned the corporations to appear and produce the named documents and papers. There was no real ad testificandum clause in the subpoena, because a corporation could not testify. It was expressly ruled in the Wilson case that the failure to put officers of the corporation on the stand in such a case did not in any way invalidate or destroy the lawful effect of the duces tecum.
held that such conduct constituted a waiver of any irregularities in not calling these witnesses before the grand jury when the documents and papers were produced. If a waiver were needed, as we do not think it was under the Wilson case, this clearly would have been sufficient.
Schratter joined with each corporation in asking a return of the documents and papers of that corporation on the ground that they might incriminate him. But the cases of Hale v. Henkel, 201 U. S. 43; Wilson v. United States, 221 U. S. 361, and Wheeler v. United States, 226 U. S. 478, show clearly that an officer of a corporation in whose custody are its books and papers is given no right to object to the production of the corporate records because they may disclose his guilt. He does not hold them in his private capacity, and is not therefore protected against their production or against a writ requiring him as agent of the corporation to produce them.
Appellants cite the cases of Boyd v. The United States, 116 U. S. 616; Weeks v. United States, 232 U. S. 383, and Gouled v. United States, 255 U. S. 298, to support their contention that the proceedings complained of herein violate their rights under the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. Those cases were all unreasonable searches of documents and records belonging to individuals. The distinction between the cases before us and those cases lies in the more limited application of the amendments to the compulsory production of corporate documents and papers, as shown in the Henkel, Wilson, and Wheeler cases.

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