Source: https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/360/343/
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 14:52:50+00:00

Document:
During the trial in a Federal District Court at which petitioner was convicted of knowingly and willfully evading the payment of income taxes for the years 1950, 1951, and 1952, an important issue was whether his handwritten record of dividends received in 1951 and 1952 had been given to an accounting firm while it was preparing his returns for those years, rather than in 1953, after revenue agents had begun investigating his returns. To impeach the testimony of a partner in the accounting firm that they had not received this record until 1953, petitioner called for and obtained the production of certain documents in the possession of the Government, but he was denied production of a 600-word memorandum summarizing parts of a 3 1/2-hour interrogation of the witness by a government agent.
Held: such memorandum was not a "statement" of the kind required to be produced under the so-called Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500; its production was properly denied; and the conviction is sustained. Pp. 360 U. S. 343-356.
contemporaneous and in the petitioner's handwriting, of dividends received during 1951 and 1952. This record reflected an amount of dividend income for 1951 substantially larger than that reported on the 1951 return. Petitioner contended that this record had been turned over to the accounting firm which regularly prepared his return, Arthur R. Sanfilippo & Co., in early 1952 for use in preparing his 1951 return, but that the figures had not been accurately entered on the return by the accountants. The Government's contention was that the record had not been given to the accounting firm until early 1953, subsequent to the initiation of the investigation of petitioner's tax affairs and long after the filing of the 1951 return. The time at which the record had been given to the accountants thus became directly relevant to the issue of criminal intent in the charge against the petitioner. Arthur R. Sanfilippo, an important government witness and the principal partner in the accounting firm, testified that his firm had not received the handwritten record of dividend income until early 1953.
affidavit. The defense also requested production of any memoranda, or of any part thereof summarizing what Sanfilippo had said, which had been made of the August 23 conference. The trial judge denied this request on the ground that the Act of September 2, 1957, 71 Stat. 595, 18 U.S.C. § 3500 -- the so-called "Jencks" Act -- governing the production of statements made to government agents by government witnesses, precluded production of the requested memorandum, since it was not within the definition of "statement" in (e) of the Act. [Footnote 1] The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed. 258 F.2d 397. Together with several other cases raising Jencks Act problems, we granted certiorari, 358 U.S. 905, to determine the scope and meaning of this new statute.
Accurate analysis of these problems as a basis of their appropriate solution requires due appreciation of the background against which the statutory terms must be projected.
agents of the Government. We also held that the trial judge was not to examine the statements to determine if they contained material inconsistent with the testimony of the witness before deciding whether he would turn them over to the defense. Once the statements had been shown to contain related material, only the defense was adequately equipped to decide whether they had value for impeachment. This decision only concerned production, and therefore did not purport to modify the laws of evidence governing the admissibility of prior statements of a witness.
had determined to exercise its power to define the rules that should govern in this particular area in the trial of criminal cases instead of leaving the matter to the lawmaking of the courts.
In almost every enactment, there are gaps to be filled and ambiguities to be resolved by judicial construction. This statute is not free from them. Here, however, the detailed particularity with which Congress has spoken has narrowed the scope for needful judicial interpretation to an unusual degree. The statute clearly defines procedures and plainly indicates the circumstances for their application. Since this case is the first calling for authoritative exposition of an Act that frequently comes into use in federal criminal prosecutions we deem it appropriate to explicate the construction of the statute required by the circumstances of this case.
reliable documents a more favored legal status, free from safeguards in the tournament of trials. To state such a construction demonstrates its irrationality; the authoritative legislative history precludes its acceptance.
and Senate bills as they went to Conference explicitly so stated. See 103 Cong.Rec. 16130; 103 Cong.Rec. 16125. Nothing in the Conference Reports or the limited debate following Conference intimated the slightest intention to change the exclusive nature of the measure. Indeed, the reports and debate proceeded on the explicit assumption that the bill retained as a major purpose the barring of all statements not specifically defined. [Footnote 6] The purpose of the Act, its fair reading, and its overwhelming legislative history compel us to hold that statements of a government witness made to an agent of the Government which cannot be produced under the terms of 18 U.S.C. § 3500 cannot be produced at all.
"a stenographic, mechanical, electrical, or other recording, or a transcription thereof, which is a substantially verbatim recital of an oral statement made by said witness to an agent of the Government and recorded contemporaneously with the marking of such oral statement."
3. The statute itself provides no procedure for making a determination whether a particular statement comes within the terms of (e), and thus may be produced if related to the subject matter of the witness' testimony. Ordinarily, the defense demand will be only for those statements which satisfy the statutory limitations. Thus, the Government will not produce documents clearly beyond the reach of the statute, for to do so would not be responsive to the order of the court. However, when it is doubtful whether the production of a particular statement is compelled by the statute, we approve the practice of having the Government submit the statement to the trial judge for an in camera determination. Indeed, any other procedure would be destructive of the statutory purpose. The statute governs the production of documents; it does not purport to affect or modify the rules of evidence regarding admissibility and use of statements once produced. The Act's major concern is with limiting and regulating defense access to government papers, and it is designed to deny such access to those statements which do not satisfy the requirements of (e), or do not relate to the subject matter of the witness' testimony. It would indeed defeat this design to hold that the defense may see statements in order to argue whether it should be allowed to see them.
extrinsic to the statement itself may or must be offered to prove the nature of the statement. In most cases, the answer will be plain from the statement itself. In others, further information might be deemed relevant to assist the court's determination. This is a problem of the sound and fair administration of a criminal prosecution, and its solution must be guided by the need, reflected in so much of our law of evidence, to avoid needless trial of collateral and confusing issues while assuring the utmost fairness to a criminal defendant. See, e.g., Nardone v. United States, 308 U. S. 338, 308 U. S. 342.
for making available a prior statement of a government witness in a case. Against such a contingency, there is always the safeguard of this Court's reviewing power.
We reject the Government's contention that, at trial, petitioner asserted only that the statute did not cover his request for production, and failed to assert that, if the statute was applicable, the memorandum could be produced under its terms. We find that objection to the interpretation of the statute was adequately made.
103 Cong.Rec. 8327. The other House bills were H.R. 8225, 103 Cong.Rec. 9572; H.R. 8243, 103 Cong.Rec. 9746; H.R. 8335, 103 Cong.Rec. 10181; H.R. No. 8341, 103 Cong.Rec. 10181; H.R. 8388, 103 Cong.Rec. 10403; H.R. 8393, 103 Cong.Rec. 10403; H.R. 8414, 103 Cong.Rec. 10547; H.R. 8416, 103 Cong.Rec. 10547; H.R. 8423, 103 Cong.Rec. 10547; H.R. 8438, 103 Cong.Rec. 10589.
Many of the cases in the lower federal courts after Jencks and prior to the enactment of the statute are collected in the statement of the Attorney General contained in H.R.Rep. No. 700, 85th Cong., 1st Sess., and in S.Rep. No. 569, 85th Cong., 1st Sess. See also S.Rep. No. 981, 85th Cong., 1st Sess.; 103 Cong.Rec. 15939-15941.
"(c) If the United States claims that any statement ordered to be produced under this section contains matter which does not relate to the subject matter of the testimony of the witness, the court shall order the United States to deliver such statement for the inspection of the court in camera. Upon such delivery, the court shall excise the portions of such statement which do not relate to the subject matter of the testimony of the witness. With such material excised, the court shall then direct delivery of such statement to the defendant for his use. If, pursuant to such procedure, any portion of such statement is withheld from the defendant and the defendant objects to such withholding, and the trial is continued to an adjudication of the guilt of the defendant, the entire text of such statements shall be preserved by the United States and, in the event the defendant appeals, shall be made available to the appellate court for the purpose of determining the correctness of the ruling of the trial judge. Whenever any statement is delivered to a defendant pursuant to this section, the court in its discretion, upon application of said defendant, may recess proceedings in the trial for such time as it may determine to be reasonably required for the examination of such statement by said defendant and his preparation for its use in the trial."
See, e.g., H.R.Rep. No. 700, 85th Cong., 1st Sess.; S.Rep. No. 569, 85th Cong., 1st Sess.; S.Rep. No. 981, 85th Cong., 1st Sess. The statements in the reports are frequent and clear. There are many like expressions on the floor of both chambers. For example, there was a lengthy debate in the Senate over an amendment which would have restricted the type of statement which could be produced beyond the limitations already incorporated in the Senate bill. The entire debate proceeded on the explicit assumption that only those statements which were enumerated in the bill could be produced at all. 103 Cong.Rec. 15930-15935. See also 103 Cong.Rec. 16116. There are many similar expressions during the debates.
See legislative history summarized in Appendix A, post, p. 360 U. S. 356.
See legislative history summarized in Appendix B, post, p. 360 U. S. 358.
See, e.g., 103 Cong.Rec. 16739. See also many statements to the same effect in the House and Senate Reports.
See legislative material cited and quoted in Appendix B, post, p. 360 U. S. 358.
Of course the statute does not provide that inconsistency between the statement and the witness' testimony is to be a relevant consideration. Neither is it significant whether or not the statement is admissible as evidence.
The statute as interpreted does not reach any constitutional barrier. Congress has the power to prescribe rules of procedure for the federal courts, and has from the earliest days exercised that power. See 37 Harv.L.Rev. at 1086 and 093 -1094, for a collection of such legislation. The power of this Court to prescribe rules of procedure and evidence for the federal courts exists only in the absence of a relevant Act of Congress. See Funk v. United States, 290 U. S. 371, 290 U. S. 382; Gordon v. United States, 344 U. S. 414, 344 U. S. 418. Much of the law of evidence and of discovery is concerned with limitations on a party's right to have access to, and to admit in evidence, material which has probative force. It is obviously a reasonable exercise of power over the rules of procedure and evidence for Congress to determine that only statements of the sort described in (e) are sufficiently reliable or important for purposes of impeachment to justify a requirement that the Government turn them over to the defense.
The statement consists of a brief agent's summary, of approximately 600 words, of a conference lasting 3 1/2 hours. It was made up after the conference, and consists of several brief statements of information given by Sanfilippo in response to questions of the agent. The typed agent's memorandum is clearly not a virtually verbatim narrative of the conference, but represents the agent's selection of those items of information deemed appropriate for inclusion in the memorandum. Thus, by applying the governing standard set forth supra, it is clear that the lower courts did not err in refusing to hand the statement over to the defense.
NOT DESCRIBED IN SUBSECTION (E).
"In any criminal prosecution brought by the United States, no statement or report of a Government witness or prospective Government witness (other than the defendant) made to an agent of the Government which is in the possession of the United States shall be the subject of subpoena or inspection except if provided in the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure or as provided in paragraph (b) of this section."
(Emphasis added.) 103 Cong.Rec. 16130. The House bill contained a similar provision.
"To remove any doubt as to the kinds of statements affected by the bill as agreed to by the conferees, a new paragraph 'e' was added . . . expressly defining the term 'statement.'"
H.R.Rep.No.1271, 85th Cong., 1st Sess., 3. In the Senate, Senator O'Mahoney, in response to a question, gave the specific changes which had been made in the bill by the Conference, and he did not give the slightest indication that it had lost its exclusive nature. 103 Cong.Rec. 16487.
"[t]here was some fear upon the part of the Department of Justice that the Senate bill would create a greater latitude for the examination of irrelevant reports of agents. The language which was devised by the conferees has cleared up the doubts. . . ."
"The conferees provided that the only statements a defendant could see, and then only in the courtroom were those actually signed or formally approved by the witness or a stenographic verbatim recital of a statement made by a witness which is recorded contemporaneously with the making of such oral statement.
In other words, only those statements need be produced in court by the Government which could be shown in court to impeach the credibility of the witness."
103 Cong.Rec. 16739. See also 103 Cong.Rec. 16742.
"is that the records which are relevant and competent, which deal with the oral statements made by Government witnesses whom the Government puts on the stand, with respect to the matters concerning which they testify, be made available."
103 Cong.Rec. 15932. Thus, the bill as it left the Senate was clearly not confined to automatic reproductions of oral statements, although its further reach was not explicitly demarcated.
The House bill, as passed, allowed only the production of written statements signed by the witness or otherwise adopted or approved. 103 Cong.Rec. 16125. The present language emerged from the Conference.
made by an agent of the Government of an oral statement made to him by a Government witness. . . ."
". . . what has been done with the so-called records provision is to tie it down to those cases in which the agent actually purports to make a substantially verbatim recital of an oral statement that the witness has made to him -- not the agent's own comments or a recording of his own ideas, but a substantially verbatim recital of an oral statement which the witness has made to him, and as transcribed by him; is that correct?"
Ibid. Senator O'Mahoney replied, "Precisely." Thus although the Senate history indicates that the bill was restricted to a "substantially verbatim recital," it is apparent that the Act was not designed to be restricted to mere mechanical transcription.
"It is believed that the provisions of the bill as agreed to by the conferees are in line with the standard enunciated by Judge George H. Moore of the eastern district of Missouri in . . . U.S. v. Anderson, . . . which is set forth at 14552 [sic] of the daily Congressional Record of August 26, 1957."
H.R. Rep. No. 1271, 85th Cong., 1st Sess., 3.
". . . only continuous, narrative statements made by the witness recorded verbatim, or nearly so, and does not include notes made during the course of an investigation (or reports compiled therefrom) which contain the subjective impressions, opinions, or conclusions of the person or persons making such notes."
103 Cong.Rec. 15940. This standard, explicitly incorporated into the House Report, has a dual significance. It not only goes beyond mechanical or stenographic statements in defining the statements which must be made available to the defense, but indicates that, once beyond that point, a very restrictive standard is to be applied.
MR. JUSTICE BRENNAN, with whom The CHIEF JUSTICE, MR. JUSTICE BLACK and MR. JUSTICE DOUGLAS join, concurring in the result.
I concur in the result, but see no justification for the Court's ranging far afield of the necessities of the case in an opinion essaying obiter a general interpretation of the so-called "Jencks Act," 18 U.S.C. (Supp. V) § 3500. Many more concrete cases must be adjudicated in the District Courts before we shall be familiar with all the problems created by the statute.
We of this Court, removed as we are from the tournament of trials, must be careful to guard against promulgating general pronouncements which prevent the trial judges from exercising their traditional responsibility. The Court's opinion well observes that the hope for a fair administration of the statute rests in the final analysis with its responsible application in the federal trial courts.
This responsibility of the federal trial judge, it goes without saying, is not to be delegated to the prosecutor. Questions of production of statements are not to be solved through one party's determination that interview reports fall without the statute, and hence that they are not to be produced to defense counsel or to the trial judge for his determination as to their coverage. I am confident that federal trial judges will devise procedural methods whereby their responsibility is not abdicated in favor of the unilateral determination of the prosecuting arm of the Government.
No express language of the statute forbids the production, after a witness has testified, of any statement outside the coverage of the definition in subsection (e), and certainly the legislative history is no adequate support for reading an absolute prohibition into it. It is true that, until the Conference Report, the bill contained a provision making it in terms exclusive; but this language was deleted in Conference. I should think this change would support an inference negating any absolute exclusivity. To be sure, the change was not explained in the hurried floor discussions which followed the agreement in Conference, in the hectic closing days of the session, [Footnote 2/3] but the absence of an explanation for the change can argue in favor of its being taken at face value. Certainly this Court should not decide the contrary against the backdrop of a serious question of potential invasion of Sixth Amendment rights. This is not to ignore the obvious intent of Congress that the statute provide the primary tests of what the Government should produce; it is only to recognize that it is not inconsistent with achievement of the statute's aim to require the production of statements outside the scope of the statute where the fair administration of criminal justice so demands. And certainly the statute cannot be said to be exclusive where the Constitution demands production. Of course, the trial judge may fashion procedural safeguards as to those producible statements lying outside the statute's purview, perhaps by analogy to the statutory procedures for the excision of irrelevant matter.
It is sufficient to say in this case that the summary in controversy does not appear to fall within the category of statements, outside the definition in subsection (e), as to which the trial judge's discretion might be exercised. [Footnote 2/4] Decision need turn on no broader ground. Cf. Lee v. Madigan, 358 U. S. 228, 358 U. S. 230-231. What was stated in the agent's summary was already known in every important detail to the defense from the transcript of the interview of July 16 and the affidavit of August 23.
suppose that a summary, part of which gave a substantial verbatim account of part of the interview, would, as to that part, be producible under the statute. Certainly a statement can be most useful for impeachment even though it does not exhaust all that was said upon the occasion. We must not forget that, when confronted with his prior statement upon cross-examination, the witness always has the opportunity to offer an explanation. The statute is to be given a reasonable construction, and the courts must not lose sight of the fact that the statute regulates production of material for possible use in cross-examination, and does not regulate admissibility into evidence -- as the Court properly observes. Here too, the constitutional question close to the surface of our holding in Jencks must be borne in mind.
of encouraging a practice of government agents' taking statements in a fashion calculated to insulate them from production. I am confident that the District Courts will bear all these factors in mind in devising practical solutions to the problems of production in the many areas which cannot fairly be said to be determined by the affirmance of the judgment in this case.
"I would certainly not want to carry the burden of saying that, in some extraordinary situation where there was no other possible way to getting hold of it [the summary], that there might not be exceptions read into the statute -- what I am talking about now is the normal, ordinary case."
See H.R.Rep. No. 700, 85th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 4; S.Rep. No. 981, 85th Cong., 1st Sess., p. 3; 103 Cong.Rec. 15928, 15933, 16489.
Copies of a statement analyzing the conference version were not even available to the Senate, due to the press of time. See 103 Cong.Rec. 16488-16489.
Of course, if the memorandum had been one falling within the statute, I need hardly add that the judge would have had no discretion to refuse to order its production to the defense, in the light of the statute's affirmative command.
I might say in passing that the Court's emphasis on interviewer's notes as a basis of producible interview records seems wholly devoid of any real support in the text of the statute or in the legislative materials cited by the Court.

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