Opinion ID: 414336
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Propriety of Quashing Subpoena

Text: 17 On February 16, 1981, Sports Illustrated (SI) published an article written by Henry Hill, in collaboration with Douglas Looney, entitled How I Put The Fix In. This article purported to be Hill's first-hand account of the point shaving scheme. Prior to trial, counsel for appellant Burke served a subpoena on Time, Incorporated, 7 the parent company of SI, seeking production of virtually every document and tape in the possession of SI that in any way related to the Looney article. 18 Time, Inc. moved to quash the subpoena pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 17(c), relying on the First Amendment reporter's privilege and arguing that broad-ranging production of SI documents would be unreasonable and unnecessary. Judge Bramwell ordered the subpoena quashed prior to trial, but permitted the appellant leave to renew his request after Henry Hill had testified. The court explained that the decision whether to grant or deny disclosure of SI documents relating to the Looney article could be made more intelligently after Hill had testified to his recollections of the point shaving scheme. 19 Burke renewed the subpoena request after Hill had concluded his testimony. Time, Inc. again moved to quash. Judge Bramwell granted the Rule 17(c) motion again, explaining that Burke had not satisfied his burden of showing that the subpoenaed documents were highly material and necessary to his case and not obtainable from other sources. The court noted that the only important evidentiary purpose served by production of these documents, i.e., impeaching the credibility of Henry Hill, did not defeat Looney's First Amendment privilege. Hill had been thoroughly impeached at trial and thus the SI materials, even if relevant, would serve a solely cumulative purpose. Judge Bramwell did order Looney to testify at trial, and he testified over the objection of Time, Inc., to any inconsistencies between Hill's in-court testimony and what he told Looney while preparing the SI article. 20 On appeal, Burke contends that Hill's testimony was the sine qua non of the government's case against him. He asserts that the court committed reversible error when it refused to review the SI documents in camera to determine if they would have substantially contradicted Hill's testimony and thus enhanced his chances for acquittal. When a litigant seeks to subpoena documents that have been prepared by a reporter in connection with a news story, this Circuit's standard of review, at least in civil cases, is well settled: 21 The law in this Circuit is clear that to protect the important interests of reporters and the public in preserving the confidentiality of journalists' sources, disclosure may be ordered only upon a clear and specific showing that the information is: highly material and relevant, necessary or critical to the maintenance of the claim, and not obtainable from other available sources. Baker v. F & F Investment, 470 F.2d 778, 783-85 (2d Cir.1972), cert. denied, 411 U.S. 966, 93 S.Ct. 2147, 36 L.Ed.2d 686 (1973). Accord, Zerilli v. Smith, 656 F.2d 705, 713-15 (D.C.Cir.1981); Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 563 F.2d 433, 438 (10th Cir.1977). 22 In re Petroleum Products Antitrust Litigation, 680 F.2d 5, 7-8 (2d Cir.1982) (per curiam). This demanding burden has been imposed by the courts to reflect a paramount public interest in the maintenance of a vigorous, aggressive and independent press capable of participating in robust, unfettered debate over controversial matters, an interest which has always been a principal concern of the First Amendment, see, e.g., New York Times v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254, 84 S.Ct. 710, 11 L.Ed.2d 686 (1964). Baker v. F & F Investment, 470 F.2d 778, 782 (2d Cir.1972), cert. denied, 411 U.S. 966, 93 S.Ct. 2147, 36 L.Ed.2d 686 (1973). 23 We see no legally-principled reason for drawing a distinction between civil and criminal cases when considering whether the reporter's interest in confidentiality should yield to the moving party's need for probative evidence. To be sure, a criminal defendant has more at stake than a civil litigant and the evidentiary needs of a criminal defendant may weigh more heavily in the balance. Nevertheless, the standard of review should remain the same. Indeed, the important social interests in the free flow of information that are protected by the reporter's qualified privilege are particularly compelling in criminal cases. Reporters are to be encouraged to investigate and expose, free from unnecessary government intrusion, evidence of criminal wrongdoing. 24 This Circuit has recognized, albeit implicitly, that the reporter's qualified privilege extends to both civil and criminal cases. In United States v. Orsini, we affirmed the district court's finding that: 25 [T]here exists no absolute rule of privilege protecting newsmen from disclosure of confidential sources. Instead, what is required is a case by case evaluation and balancing of the legitimate competing interests of the newsman's claim to First Amendment protection from forced disclosure of his confidential sources, as against the defendant's claim to a fair trial which is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. 26 424 F.Supp. 229, 232 (E.D.N.Y.1976), aff'd mem., 559 F.2d 1206 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 997, 98 S.Ct. 636, 54 L.Ed.2d 491 (1977). This view has been adopted by courts in other jurisdictions. See, e.g., United States v. Cuthbertson, 630 F.2d 139, 146-47 (3d Cir.1980), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1126, 101 S.Ct. 945, 67 L.Ed.2d 113 (1981); United States v. Hubbard, 493 F.Supp. 202, 205 (D.D.C.1979); see also Baker v. F & F Investment, 470 F.2d at 784-85 (this Court observed that the Supreme Court's decision in Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665, 92 S.Ct. 2646, 33 L.Ed.2d 626 (1972), recognized the need to balance First Amendment values even where a reporter is asked to testify before a grand jury). Having resolved this threshold issue, we proceed to balance the First Amendment interests of reporter Looney against the evidentiary needs of defendant Burke. 27 The Petroleum Products test requires the moving party to make a clear and specific showing that the subpoenaed documents are highly material and relevant, necessary or critical to the maintenance of the claim, and not obtainable from other available sources. 680 F.2d at 7. The Looney work papers may have been material and relevant inasmuch as they might have contradicted the trial testimony of Henry Hill. However, the appellant has completely failed to make the clear and specific showing that these documents were necessary or critical to the maintenance of his defense. 8 28 Counsel for Burke admitted at trial that the principal evidentiary purpose served by the Looney materials would be to impeach the credibility of Henry Hill. Judge Bramwell observed, however, that Hill had been impeached thoroughly during trial and thus any further impeachment evidence introduced against him would serve a solely cumulative purpose. The trial record fully supports the finding of the court that Hill's credibility was effectively attacked without resort to the SI documents. Specifically, Hill conceded that he was a career criminal who had committed many heinous crimes, including armed robbery, arson and hijacking. The witness admitted during direct examination that he had been convicted for his involvement in an extortion ring, and for loansharking, trafficking in heroin, cocaine and other illicit drugs. After counsel had exposed this litany of abuses, Judge Bramwell was prompted to remark: 29 Now, with what's come out as to this witness, I see--I mean--it couldn't be worse as far as what would show as to a man in his condition. 30 I mean he's done everything, every type of crime and situation. 31 Brief for Appellee at 26. 32 In addition to this wealth of impeachment evidence, Judge Bramwell also ordered that a redacted version of Hill's immunity agreement be read to the jury. Thus, the jury was aware that Hill, in an effort to curry favor with the government and thereby seal his immunity, might be expected, regardless of his actual beliefs, to testify favorably for the prosecution. Finally, the court required Looney to testify at trial and defense counsel was able to expose inconsistencies between Hill's trial testimony and his representations to Looney. In light of this extensive impeachment evidence, the district court properly concluded that any information to be gleaned from the SI work papers would be merely cumulative and thus would not defeat Looney's First Amendment privilege. 9