Opinion ID: 1060778
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Young Decision

Text: Prior to 1987, the leading case on this issue was McCann v. New York Stock Exchange, 80 F.2d 211 (2nd Cir.1935), in which Judge Learned Hand commented that to prosecute an indirect criminal contempt, committed outside the presence of the court, the judge may prefer to use the attorney of a party, who will indeed ordinarily be his only means of information.... There is no reason why he should not do so, and every reason why he should.... Id. at 214. In Young v. United States ex rel. Vuitton et Fils S.A., 481 U.S. 787, 107 S.Ct. 2124, 95 L.Ed.2d 740 (1987), however, the United States Supreme Court parted company with Judge Hand when it held that federal judges could no longer appoint a private lawyer representing the beneficiary of a court order to also prosecute a criminal contempt action alleging a violation of the order. Young began as a trademark infringement action brought by Vuitton et Fils, S.A., (Vuitton), a manufacturer of expensive handbags, against several businesses which were manufacturing and selling inexpensive imitations of Vuitton's merchandise. In July of 1982, the parties settled the trademark infringement case. Under the settlement agreement, the defendants were required to pay damages and enjoined from using Vuitton's registered trademark. Suspecting that the defendants had violated the injunction, Vuitton in early 1983 commissioned a private firm to conduct an undercover investigation. Upon discovering evidence of noncompliance, Vuitton's attorney asked the district court to appoint him and his colleagues as special counsel to prosecute a criminal contempt action for violation of the injunction. The district court found probable cause to believe that the defendants were violating the injunction and appointed Vuitton's attorney and his colleagues to represent the United States in continuing the investigation and in prosecuting the contempt action. Significantly, the appointment conferred upon Vuitton's attorneys all the powers ordinarily possessed by a government prosecutor, yet the United States Attorney's Office took no part in the prosecution of the case beyond wishing the special prosecutor good luck. Id., 481 U.S. at 791-92, 107 S.Ct. at 2129. Over the next month, the special prosecutor compiled more than 100 audio and video tapes of meetings and wiretapped telephone conversations between the defendants and investigators. With that evidence, the special prosecutor requested and obtained an order from the district court directing the defendants to show cause why they should not be cited for contempt for either violating or aiding and abetting the violation of the injunction. The defendants filed motions opposing both the show cause order and the appointment of Vuitton's attorneys as special prosecutor. The defense motions were denied, and eventually two of the defendants entered guilty pleas to contempt. Several other defendants were tried and convicted of contempt. Id., 481 U.S. at 792, 107 S.Ct. at 2129. Before the United States Supreme Court, the defendants advanced two primary arguments as grounds for reversal of their convictions. First, they contended that a district court lacks authority to appoint private counsel to prosecute a contempt action and that only the U.S. Attorney may initiate a criminal contempt prosecution. Id., 481 U.S. at 793, 107 S.Ct. at 2130. Alternatively, the defendants maintained that a district court may not appoint an attorney representing the beneficiary of a court order to prosecute a criminal contempt action alleging a violation of that order. Id., 481 U.S. at 802-14, 107 S.Ct. at 2135-38. In rejecting the defendants' first argument, the Court held that district courts have inherent power both to initiate contempt proceedings to punish disobedience to their orders and to appoint a private attorney to prosecute such contempt actions. Id., 481 U.S. at 793, 107 S.Ct. at 2130. [3] The Court commented that this power to appoint should be exercised sparingly, and only after the public prosecutor has denied a district court's request to prosecute a contempt. Id., 481 U.S. at 801, 107 S.Ct. at 2133. The Supreme Court, however, agreed with the defendants' second argument and found that the district court erred by appointing an attorney who was representing the beneficiary of a court order to prosecute a criminal contempt for an alleged violation of the order. The Court first emphasized that private attorneys appointed to prosecute criminal contempt actions represent the interest of the United States in vindicating a court's authority. Id., 481 U.S. at 804, 107 S.Ct. at 2136. A private attorney prosecuting a criminal contempt, therefore, must assume the unique responsibility of a government prosecutor which is to pursue justice and guarantee that guilt shall not escape nor innocence suffer. Young, 481 U.S. at 802-03, 107 S.Ct. at 2135 (quoting Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 88, 55 S.Ct. 629, 633, 79 L.Ed. 1314 (1935)). While recognizing that a private party's interest in obtaining the benefits of a court order may sometimes coincide with the special prosecutor's pursuit of justice, the Court stressed that the two interests may also at times diverge. Young, 481 U.S. at 805, 107 S.Ct. at 2136. As examples of the possible divergence, the Court hypothesized that an attorney for a private client serving as special prosecutor of a contempt action may be tempted either to bring a tenuously supported prosecution or to abandon a meritorious prosecution if either action would inure to the benefit of his or her private client. The Court declared that appointing counsel for an interested party to prosecute a criminal contempt action at a minimum create[s] opportunities for conflicts to arise and create[s] at least the appearance of impropriety. Id., 481 U.S. at 806, 107 S.Ct. at 2137. In concluding that lawyers already representing an interested party have an insurmountable conflict of interest if they also undertake to prosecute a criminal contempt case, the Court stated: Between the private life of the citizen and the public glare of criminal accusation stands the prosecutor. That state official has the power to employ the full machinery of the state in scrutinizing any given individual. Even if a defendant is ultimately acquitted, forced immersion in criminal investigation and adjudication is a wrenching disruption of everyday life. For this reason, we must have assurance that those who would wield this power will be guided solely by their sense of public responsibility for the attainment of justice. A prosecutor of a contempt action who represents the private beneficiary of the court order allegedly violated cannot provide such assurance, for such an attorney is required by the very standards of the profession to serve two masters. Id., 481 U.S. at 805, 107 S.Ct. at 2138. The Young Court did not base its decision upon constitutional grounds but instead announced the rule of disqualification in its supervisory role over lower federal courts. Though we are not constitutionally bound to follow Young , the rationale for the decision was based largely upon the Model Code of Professional Responsibility which, as modified, currently governs the conduct of attorneys in Tennessee. See Tenn. Sup.Ct. R. 8. As explained below, however, we decline to adopt the rule of automatic disqualification announced in Young .