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ILLINOIS V. ABBOTT & ASSOCS., INC., 460 U. S. 557 - Volume 460 - 1983 - Full Text - US Supreme Court Center - USSC Cases - Nolo
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ILLINOIS V. ABBOTT & ASSOCS., INC., 460 U. S. 557 (1983)
Illinois v. Abbott & Assocs., Inc., 460 U.S. 557 (1983)
Held: Section 4F(b) does not give the state attorney general a special right of access to grand jury materials that is independent of or modifies the limitations imposed by Rule 6(e). Pp. 460 U. S. 565-573.
the extent permitted by law," that the Illinois Attorney General is not entitled to the disclosure sought in this case. Pp. 460 U. S. 565-568.
(b) Section 4F(b)'s legislative history supports the conclusion that Congress intended the section to recognize the "General Rule of Secrecy," and did not intend to change applicable law concerning grand jury materials. Pp. 460 U. S. 568-571.
(c) The Act's general goals of enhancing federal-state cooperation and encouraging more state lawsuits against price-fixers are not sufficient to show that Congress intended to change existing rules of law, absent an affirmative expression of intent to do so. Pp. 460 U. S. 572-573.
STEVENS, J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court. BRENNAN, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which O'CONNOR, J., joined., post, p. 460 U. S. 573.
Courts of Appeals, [Footnote 1] the Seventh Circuit rejected this contention. We granted certiorari to resolve the conflict, 455 U.S. 1015 (1982), and now affirm.
On January 31, 1980, the State of Illinois filed a petition in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking disclosure of transcripts and documents generated during two federal grand jury investigations of alleged bid-rigging in the construction trades in Illinois. These investigations had resulted in the return of three separate indictments naming 59 defendants. [Footnote 2] At the time the State filed its petition, most of the defendants had entered pleas of nolo contendere to the federal charges and one had been found guilty by a jury, but eight defendants were still awaiting trial. [Footnote 3] The Justice Department had refused the State's request for the grand jury materials, [Footnote 4] explaining that they
could not be disclosed without a court order under Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. [Footnote 5]
The State advised the District Court that it had already initiated civil class actions against 86 defendants, charged in the indictments or identified as unindicted coconspirators, to recover damages based on federal antitrust violations. The State's petition invoked § 4F(b) [Footnote 6] and Rule 6(e) in support of
App. 13. The Department of Justice supported the State's petition. [Footnote 7] Certain defendants in the civil suits and others who had testified before the grand juries intervened to oppose disclosure.
The District Court then explained why the record as then developed would not justify disclosure under Rule 6(e) without reference to § 4F(b). Noting the absence of any special showing of need for access to the grand jury materials, the scope of the material otherwise available to the plaintiffs, and the interests in grand jury secrecy that survived the termination of criminal proceedings, [Footnote 8] the District Court denied all of the petitions for disclosure. The denial, however, was without prejudice to renewed requests under Rule 6(e) after discovery efforts created a basis for more narrowly focused requests showing "particularized needs." [Footnote 9]
The plain language of § 4F(b) requires us to evaluate the legal context in which Congress legislated in 1976. The statute expressly mandates disclosure of investigative files and other materials only "to the extent permitted by law." It is therefore appropriate to examine the extent to which, at the time the Act was passed, federal law permitted the Attorney General of the United States to disclose matters occurring before a federal grand jury to a state attorney general. [Footnote 10]
Since 1946, the disclosure of grand jury minutes has been governed by Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. In so many words, the Rule establishes a "General Rule of Secrecy," a knowing violation of which "may be punished as a contempt of court." [Footnote 11] The Rule provides that
grand jury transcripts shall remain in the custody of the attorney for the Government "unless otherwise ordered by the court in a particular case." [Footnote 12] There is only one exception to the general prohibition against disclosure without prior court approval, but that exception is limited to Federal Government personnel performing a specified federal law enforcement function. [Footnote 13] Plainly Rule 6(e) does not permit the Attorney General of the United States to disclose any grand jury proceedings to a state attorney general unless he is directed to do so by a court.
The court, however, is authorized by Rule 6(e)(3)(C) to permit certain disclosures that are otherwise prohibited by the "General Rule of Secrecy." The scope of that authority has been delineated in a series of cases setting forth the standard of "particularized need." [Footnote 14] We need not delineate the precise contours of that standard in this case, because the State made no attempt to make any such showing in the District Court, see n 8, supra, and has consistently maintained that it need not shoulder that burden. [Footnote 15]
Thus, under the law as it existed in 1976, two propositions were clear: (1) a state attorney general could not obtain access to federal grand jury proceedings without federal court approval; and (2) the State could not secure such approval merely by alleging that the materials were relevant to an actual or potential civil antitrust action. [Footnote 16] At the time the Act was passed in 1976, a blanket disclosure request comparable to the one at issue in this case would have been denied, because it was not permitted by law. The State does not suggest that there has been any change in the law since 1976 that affects its right to disclosure. [Footnote 17] It therefore follows from the plain language of the Act that the State Attorney General is not entitled to the disclosure he seeks in this case.
that doubt would be removed by its legislative history. First, Congress considered and rejected a proposed section that would have specifically granted civil antitrust plaintiffs a right of access to grand jury materials after completion of federal civil or criminal proceedings. As reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee, the provision eliminated the particularized need requirement and permitted disclosure, subject to court-imposed conditions, upon payment of reasonable costs. [Footnote 18] The proposed sweeping invasion of grand jury secrecy drew substantial criticism from a number of Senators. [Footnote 19] A floor amendment limited the section's scope, and, as amended, it was adopted by the Senate, [Footnote 20] but at the informal House-Senate conference, the House conferees objected and the Senate's provision was dropped. [Footnote 21] The net effect of these
Second, a specific explanation of § 4F(b) by Senator.Abourezk, the floor manager of the legislation, confirms the conclusion that Congress did not intend to change existing law concerning grand jury materials. The section was included in the compromise bill accepted by an informal House-Senate conference. After Senator Hruska expressed his concern that § 4F(b) might require the Department of Justice to act as "a massive document distribution center for the benefit of State officials," [Footnote 22] Senator Abourezk explained:
122 Cong.Rec. 29160 (1976). Senator Abourezk's interpretation of this provision was not questioned. [Footnote 23]
Third, the Act's treatment of material obtained by the Government in response to Civil Investigative Demands (CID's) supports our interpretation of § 4F(b). The Act increases the Attorney General's CID powers, [Footnote 24] but mandates that materials obtained in this manner be kept strictly confidential. CID materials may not be disclosed to persons outside the Federal Government without the consent of the provider. 15 U.S.C. § 1313 (1976 ed. and Supp. V). This requirement was imposed to safeguard the rights of individuals under investigation and to protect witnesses from retaliation. [Footnote 25] Since those reasons also underlie the traditional secrecy accorded to the grand jury, it would be anomalous for the same Congress that placed stringent limits on CID materials silently to have abrogated grand jury secrecy by permitting wholesale disclosure. [Footnote 26]
Finally, the State argues that the Act implements a general policy of encouraging federal/state cooperation and giving state attorneys general an important role in the enforcement of the antitrust laws. According to the State, this broad legislative goal would be served by facilitating the State's access to grand jury materials. The State contends that virtually all of the Federal Government's investigations of core Sherman Act violations -- such as price-fixing and bid-rigging -- are conducted from the outset by means of grand juries. [Footnote 27] Therefore, as in this case, a narrow reading of § 4F(b) would severely limit the amount of additional disclosure to state attorneys general. Further, the State asserts, a "particularized need" standard would be difficult to satisfy before a State has filed a civil action and attempted civil discovery -- a stage when § 4F(b) is intended to provide assistance to the State.
However correct these assertions may be, they do not authorize us to add specific language that Congress did not include in a carefully considered statute. Congress, of course, has the power to modify the rule of secrecy by changing the showing of need required for particular categories of litigants. [Footnote 28] But the rule is so important, and so deeply rooted in our traditions, that we will not infer that Congress has exercised
such a power without affirmatively expressing its intent to do so. The general goals of enhancing federal-state cooperation in antitrust enforcement, and encouraging more state lawsuits against price fixers, are not sufficient. [Footnote 29] The statute as enacted by Congress simply does not authorize the Attorney General to turn over the entire investigative record of a federal antitrust grand jury to a state attorney general who has not complied with the judicially developed standards implementing Rule 6(e). Because the disclosure requested by the State in this case is not permitted by Rule 6(e) on the basis of the showing it made to the District Court, the judgment of the Court of Appeals is affirmed.
"Rule 6. The Grand Jury"
"(e) Recording and Disclosure of Proceedings."
"Petitioners have simply requested the release to them of all of the grand jury material. In their quest for information, grand juries often acquire reams of documents and hours of testimony later to be found irrelevant to the investigation or the final charge. Its wholesale disclosure could be embarrassing, if not destructive of third parties or of unindicted individuals and corporations concerned when witnesses are called upon to testify or furnish evidence which involves them. This is one of the principal reasons why grand jurors are sworn to secrecy. It is the duty of the court in following 6(e) to protect from public scrutiny and injury such individuals and corporations. Petitioners, after having done little more than filing a suit, seek an all-encompassing, unparticularized general type of full disclosure which, by the very nature of the request, would defeat the spirit and rule of Procter & Gamble and Douglas Oil [United States v. Procter & Gamble Co., 356 U. S. 677 (1958); Douglas Oil Co. v. Petrol Stops Northwest, 441 U. S. 211 (1979)]. Their request offends the common law concern for the traditional protection of the innocent that has been built into our grand jury system from its earliest conception."
Because the District Court's order finally disposed of the State Attorney General's claim of a statutory right of access to grand jury materials without a showing of particularized need, we are satisfied that the order was appealable under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. The court's acknowledgment that the State might subsequently seek disclosure of particular materials under a "particularized need" standard does not deprive the order of finality. The ruling at issue in this case was made by the Chief Judge of the Northern District of Illinois in a separately docketed proceeding, see App. to Pet. for Cert. 40a; the opinion contemplates that further disclosure requests would be filed with the District Judges presiding over the State's civil antitrust actions, id. at 39a. See Illinois v. Sarbaugh, 552 F.2d 768, 773-774 (CA7 1977); cf. Douglas Oil Co. v. Petrol Stops Northwest, supra, at 441 U. S. 231-233 (REHNQUIST, J., concurring) (the District Court's order granting access to grand jury minutes "disposes of all of the contentions of the parties and terminates a separate proceeding pending before the grand jury court" and is therefore appealable as a "final decisio[n]" under 28 U.S.C. § 1291).
See Rule 6(e)(2), quoted in n 5, supra. The General Rule of Secrecy codifies a longstanding rule of common law which we have recognized as "an integral part of our criminal justice system." Douglas Oil Co. v. Petrol Stops Northwest, supra, at 441 U. S. 218, n. 9. Several distinct interests are served by safeguarding the confidentiality of grand jury proceedings. See 441 U.S. at 441 U. S. 219, and n. 10. Even after the conclusion of a particular grand jury's investigation, continued secrecy protects the reputations of the innocent and safeguards witnesses from possible retaliation. In addition, stringent protection of the secrecy of completed grand jury investigations may be necessary to encourage persons to testify fully and freely before future grand juries. Id. at 441 U. S. 222. More generally, grand jury secrecy has traditionally been invoked to justify the limited procedural safeguards available to witnesses and persons under investigation.
See Douglas Oil Co., 441 U.S. at 441 U. S. 221-224.
Id. at 441 U. S. 222 (footnote omitted); see also United States v. Procter & Gamble Co., 356 U.S. at 356 U. S. 682; Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. v. United States, 360 U. S. 395, 360 U. S. 398-399 (1959); cf. Dennis v. United States, 384 U. S. 855 (1966).
The State's petition sought all materials gathered or generated by the grand jury investigations. In this Court, the State concedes that the district court may properly exercise its discretion to determine whether to disclose the requested materials, but it proposes "a standard less restrictive than particularized need." See Brief for Petitioner 30-33, 42-43. Under this standard, the district court would determine whether disclosure would undermine an ongoing or potential federal enforcement proceeding and whether countervailing interests require secrecy, and it could impose appropriate protective limitations upon disclosure. Ibid. The United States, as respondent under this Court's Rule 19.6, in support of petitioner proposes a similar test. See Brief for United States 24-28. However such a standard might be formulated, it differs from the "particularized need" standard, which is expressly preserved by § 4F(b). But in rejecting such a rule, we stress that, under the particularized need standard, the district court may weigh the public interest, if any, served by disclosure to a governmental body -- along with the requisite particularized need -- in determining whether "the need for disclosure is greater than the need for continued secrecy." Douglas Oil Co., supra, at 441 U. S. 222.
See S.Rep. No. 94-803, pp. 4, 33-35, 128, 152 (1976) (§ 202(l) of S. 1284). The Senate Judiciary Committee bill also authorized the Attorney General to give the Federal Trade Commission access to these grand jury materials. Id. at 31-32 (§ 202(k)).
One of the leading opponents of § 212(l), Senator Allen, introduced a substitute amendment, defeated by the Senate, which was virtually identical in wording to the section in the House bill that was later enacted into law as § 4F(b). See id. at 15852-15853, 16824-16825, 17194. Senator Allen's support of this provision, coupled with his strong opposition to § 212(l), indicates that § 4F(b) was not intended to abrogate traditional protections of grand jury secrecy.
The amendment limited disclosure to cases in which a defendant had entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, and permitted only the disclosure of material provided by that defendant, not by third parties. Id. at 15917-15918, 16922-16923. Amended § 202(l) was part of the bill adopted by the Senate on June 10, 1976. Id. at 17572.
I join in the Court's opinion. I write separately to state my view that, when a district court considers "the public interest, if any, served by disclosure to a governmental body," ante at 460 U. S. 568, n. 15, that consideration may properly include consideration of a specific statutory policy favoring disclosure in particular circumstances. In this case, the district court would have before it the specific provisions of § 4F(b) of the
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