Opinion ID: 453285
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Fifth Amendment Privilege and the Danger of Foreign Prosecution

Text: 24 Scaduto argues next that he was justified in asserting his Fifth Amendment privilege because the domestic immunity which had been conferred upon him was insufficient to protect him from foreign prosecution. On September 14, 1984, an Italian magistrate and policeman came to the United States to interrogate Scaduto. At the time of the interrogation, which took place at the office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, the magistrate presented Scaduto with a series of drug trafficking charges and informed him that there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest in Italy. The issuance of such a warrant is the first step in the commencement of extradition proceedings by the Italian government. At the September 1984 meeting with the Italian officials, Scaduto stated that his appeal was pending in the United States and exercised his right to remain silent. On January 26, 1985, the State Department formally denied an extradition request by the Italian government. 25 In Zicarelli v. New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, 406 U.S. 472, 92 S.Ct. 1670, 32 L.Ed.2d 234 (1972), the Court declined to resolve a similar claim, but held that a claimant asserting that a Fifth Amendment privilege is necessary to protect him from the threat of foreign prosecution must demonstrate first, that the information that would be disclosed through his testimony might incriminate him under foreign law, and second, that his fear of foreign prosecution is real and substantial rather than merely speculative. 406 U.S. 478-80, 92 S.Ct. 1674-76. Courts of appeals, including the former Fifth Circuit, have followed these standards in evaluating similar claims. See United States v. Brummitt, 665 F.2d 521 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 977, 102 S.Ct. 2244, 72 L.Ed.2d 852 (1982); In Re Tierney, 465 F.2d 806 (5th Cir.1972), cert. denied, 410 U.S. 914, 93 S.Ct. 959, 35 L.Ed.2d 276 (1973); In Re Flanagan, 691 F.2d 116 (2d Cir.1982). The courts have identified a number of factors which bear upon the second prong of the Zicarelli test, which include: whether there is an existing or potential foreign prosecution of the claimant; whether any of the charges would entitle the foreign jurisdiction to have him extradited; and whether there is a likelihood that his testimony would be disclosed to a foreign government. Zicarelli v. New Jersey State Commission of Investigation, supra; In Re Flanagan, supra, 691 F.2d at 121. 26 Neither party disputes the fact that the testimony sought by the Commission would be relevant to a foreign prosecution. Several of the questions posed by the Commission at Scaduto's depositions concerned his involvement in drug traffic between the United States and Italy, which involvement would surely have been of interest to Italian authorities. The issue which the parties contest is whether there was a real and substantial danger of an Italian prosecution, under the standards set forth above. 27 The Commission argues that despite the fact that charges have been filed by the Italian government, extradition is currently impossible under Article 6 of the Extradition Treaty which states that 28 Extradition shall not be granted when the person sought has been convicted, acquitted or pardoned, or has served the sentence imposed, by the requested party for the acts for which extradition is requested 29 and notes that an extradition request has already been denied by the State Department. The Commission also claims that there is virtually no likelihood that Scaduto's testimony would become available to foreign authorities, because the court's order required Scaduto's testimony to be given in the form of a deposition taken by a single Commission attorney, and imposed an absolute bar on any form of disclosure. Scaduto argues that if his conviction were reversed on the appeal currently pending before the Second Circuit, and retrial was not sought, he could again be subject to extradition. He argues that it is also possible that the Italian authorities could try him in absentia. Scaduto further claims that some courts have found secrecy orders insufficient to assure that testimony will not become available to a foreign sovereign. See In re Flanagan, supra, 691 F.2d at 123 (Rule 6(e) of F.R.Crim.P. not adequate to assure nondisclosure of testimony). 30 The Commission's argument has greater support on all points. While it is possible that Scaduto's conviction will be reversed, and retrial will not be sought, and the Italian authorities will seek extradition, and U.S. authorities will comply, such a danger appears to be of precisely that speculative variety that the Court found insufficient to support the assertion of a privilege in Zicarelli. And Scaduto presents no evidence to suggest that he will, in fact, be tried in absentia, or that such a trial will have any consequences whatsoever for him if he is not subject to extradition. As to the sufficiency of the court's secrecy order, the former Fifth Circuit has found Rule 6(e) fully adequate to prevent the likelihood of disclosure to a foreign sovereign. See United States v. Brummitt, supra, 665 F.2d at 526; In Re Tierney, 465 F.2d at 811-12. By analogy, it would appear that the order given by the court is sufficient to eliminate the danger of such disclosure, particularly as the officers of the court who would be involved in the taking of Scaduto's deposition would be less likely to leak information in the manner feared by the Flanagan court than members of a grand jury. The district court did not err in finding that there was insufficient danger of a foreign prosecution to justify the assertion of the privilege. 31