Opinion ID: 695496
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Power of District Court to Regulate Grand Jury Subpoenas

Text: 23 A federal court has the inherent power ... to control admission to its bar and to discipline attorneys who appear before it. Chambers, 501 U.S. at 43, 111 S.Ct. at 2132 (citing Ex parte Burr, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 529, 531, 6 L.Ed. 152 (1824)). See also Culebras Enterprises Corp. v. Rivera- Rios, 846 F.2d 94, 97 (1st Cir.1988) ([i]t is well settled in this circuit that the district court has the duty and responsibility to supervise the conduct of attorneys who appear before it) (citations omitted); United States v. Claros, 17 F.3d 1041, 1046-47 (7th Cir.1994); Eash v. Riggins Trucking Inc., 757 F.2d 557, 569 (3d Cir.1985). The Supreme Court has implied that the power to regulate the conduct of attorneys derives also from statutory authority. See Frazier, 482 U.S. at 645, 107 S.Ct. at 2611 (district court has discretion to adopt local rules that are necessary to carry out the conduct of its business [and this authority] includes the regulation of admissions to its own bar) (citing 28 U.S.C. Secs. 1654, 2071; Fed.R.Civ.P. 83). See also Greer's Refuse Serv., Inc. v. Browning-Ferris Indus., 843 F.2d 443, 446 (11th Cir.1988) (federal courts have clear statutory authority to promulgate rules governing the admission and conduct of the attorneys who practice before them). 24 Whether considered statutory or inherent in derivation, we have little difficulty concluding that the greater power of disbarring attorneys for unethical behavior necessarily includes the lesser power of erecting reasonable prophylactic rules to regulate perceived abuses by attorneys appearing before the court. Cf. Chambers, 501 U.S. at 45, 111 S.Ct. at 2133 (power to dismiss lawsuit for conduct abusing judicial process includes the less severe sanction of imposing attorney's fees). The question remains, however, whether, considering the special role assigned the grand jury in our justice system, Local Rule 3.8(f) regulates a subject matter beyond the district court's rule-making authority.
25 The grand jury occupies a unique place in our justice system. It is not assigned by the Constitution to any of the three branches of government, and therefore acts independently of each. The Supreme Court has explained: [T]he whole theory of the [grand jury's] function is that it belongs to no branch of the institutional government, serving as a kind of buffer or referee between the Government and the people. United States v. Williams, 504 U.S. 36, 46-48, 112 S.Ct. 1735, 1742, 118 L.Ed.2d 352 (1992). The grand jury's specialness is manifested in five ways pertinent to this case: 1) its independence from the court's supervision; 2) its broad investigative powers; 3) the presumption of validity accorded its subpoenas; 4) the secrecy of its proceedings; and 5) its general freedom from procedural detours and delays. See id. (citations omitted); United States v. R. Enterprises, 498 U.S. 292, 298-301, 111 S.Ct. 722, 726-28, 112 L.Ed.2d 795 (1991) (citations omitted). 26 Plaintiffs maintain that Local Rule 3.8(f) impermissibly interferes with these five special attributes of the grand jury. They contend that Local Rule 3.8(f), therefore, regulates a subject matter beyond the district court's rule-making authority because it directly contravenes the central principles underlying the essential role and function of the grand jury in the federal criminal justice system. The district court agreed, holding that the district court cannot enforce Local Rule 3.8(f) because it assumes a power that the court does not have--the power to fundamentally alter the historic relationship between the grand jury and its constituting court. Almond, 852 F.Supp. at 86 (citing Williams, 504 U.S. at 50-52, 112 S.Ct. at 1744). 27 We disagree with the district court for three reasons. First, Local Rule 3.8(f) is a prophylactic rule aimed at, and principally affecting, prosecutors, not the grand jury. As such, the Rule regulates the conduct of attorneys appearing before the court--a power well within the limits of a federal district court's rule-making authority--and not the grand jury per se. Second, we think the district court's reliance on Williams is misplaced. Finally, any incidental effect the Rule has on the grand jury is minimal, and outweighed by the important interests served by the rule. 28
29 Local Rule 3.8(f) does not impede the grand jury's independence because it does not affect subpoenas sought by the grand jury acting independently. The plain language of the Rule demonstrates that it applies to [t]he prosecutor in a criminal case. As we pointed out in Klubock I, concerning a virtually identical ethical rule: 30 PF 15 is not aimed at grand jury action. It deals solely with prosecutorial conduct in the prosecutor's capacity as a member of the bar. If, in fact, a grand jury acting independently of any prosecutorial influence issues a subpoena against an attorney/witness, the attorney/witness must honor it, or move to quash the subpoena in an appropriate manner. Such independent action by a grand jury has no relevance to PF 15 because none of the ethical concerns previously mentioned are implicated. 31 Klubock I, 832 F.2d at 658. The distinction is critical because, although the potential damage to the attorney-client relationship exists regardless of who seeks the subpoena, the attorney-to-attorney ethical concerns that the Rule was designed to mitigate are not implicated when the grand jury, acting independently, seeks to subpoena counsel. 11 The Rule, as written, acts only as a prophylactic aimed at perceived deleterious action by one litigating attorney against opposing counsel. 32 Nor does the Rule affect the grand jury's broad investigative powers--often described as the grand jury's right to every man's evidence. Branzburg v. Hayes, 408 U.S. 665, 688, 92 S.Ct. 2646, 2660, 33 L.Ed.2d 626 (1972). First and foremost, the Rule makes no change in substantive law. It merely authorizes district courts to reject a prosecutor's attorney-subpoena application for the traditional reasons justifying the quashing of a subpoena--that is, the subpoena request would be denied if the evidence sought is protected by a constitutional, common-law, or statutory privilege, or, the court determines that compliance with the subpoena would be unreasonable or oppressive. See id. (citations omitted); In re Grand Jury Matters, 751 F.2d at 17-18 (Fed.R.Crim.P. 17(c)). 12 Local Rule 3.8(f) does not keep any evidence from reaching the grand jury which would not potentially have been kept from it anyway. Therefore, it does not disturb the grand jury's broad investigative powers. 13 33 In effect, Local Rule 3.8(f) merely changes the timing with respect to motions to quash in recognition of the fact that service itself of an attorney-subpoena seeking to compel evidence concerning a client may cause irreparable damage to the attorney-client relationship. See Klubock I, 832 F.2d at 653 (The serving of a subpoena under such circumstances will immediately drive a chilling wedge between the attorney/witness and his client.). From the moment that the subpoena is served on counsel, until the issue of its validity is resolved, the client resides in a state of suspended animation, not knowing whether his attorney will testify against him and perhaps be required to withdraw his representation. The uncertainty is heightened by the fact that the common law of attorney-client privilege is still evolving to address the concerns implicated by new federal laws relating to client identity and fee arrangements. Compare United States v. Gertner, 873 F.Supp. 729 (D.Mass.1995) (in case of first impression in this circuit, holding that identification of attorney's client, as required by 26 U.S.C. Sec. 6050I, is protected from disclosure by attorney-client privilege) with United States v. Goldberger & Dubin, P.C., 935 F.2d 501, 505 (2d Cir.1991) (holding that the information is not protected by attorney-client privilege). In addition, service of a subpoena opens a second front which counsel must defend with her time and resources, thus diverting both from the client. That the defense counsel's adversary can bring about these consequences raises manifest ethical concerns, properly addressed by a rule directed at regulating the attorney-to-attorney relationship. 34 We also reject plaintiffs' argument that Local Rule 3.8(f) contravenes the historic secrecy of grand jury investigations. Nothing in the text of the Rule prohibits the filing of attorney-subpoena applications to the court under seal or in camera. Nor does the Rule prohibit the court from holding an ex parte, in camera hearing. District courts routinely use in camera procedures to maintain grand jury secrecy in the context of post-service motions to quash. See R. Enterprises, Inc., 498 U.S. at 302, 111 S.Ct. at 728. Moreover, because the grounds upon which a district court may reject an attorney-subpoena application mirror those for quashing a subpoena, the prosecutor will be required to divulge no more information with respect to the grand jury's investigation than it would in responding to a motion to quash. 14 35 Finally, there is nothing in the text of Local Rule 3.8(f) which would subject the grand jury to unusual procedural delays or detours. As noted, the Rule only affects subpoenas sought by prosecutors for use at the grand jury proceeding. It is not applicable to subpoenas sought by a grand jury acting independently. It therefore will not usually have any delaying effect on the grand jury's investigation. Furthermore, any procedural delay or detour which does result would be minimal--presumably no greater than that caused by a traditional motion to quash a subpoena issued at the grand jury stage. As explained below, we think any minimal delay is outweighed by the benefits of the Rule. 36 We made many of these points in Klubock I. In striking down the ethical rule in this case, however, the district court reasoned that the Supreme Court's recent decision in Williams, 504 U.S. 36, 112 S.Ct. 1735, 118 L.Ed.2d 352, negates any persuasive authority Klubock I has with respect to grand jury subpoenas.
37 Williams held that a district court does not have the power to dismiss an otherwise valid indictment because the government failed to disclose substantial exculpatory evidence to the grand jury. In doing so, the Court announced the following principles, upon which the district court relied in striking down Local Rule 3.8(f) as applied to grand jury subpoenas. 38 These authorities suggest that any power federal courts may have to fashion, on their own initiative, rules of grand jury procedure is a very limited one, not remotely comparable to the power they maintain over their own proceedings. It certainly would not permit judicial reshaping of the grand jury institution, substantially altering the traditional relationships between the prosecutor, the constituting court, and the grand jury itself. 39 Williams, 504 U.S. at 50, 112 S.Ct. at 1744 (citations omitted) (emphasis added). Citing the history of the grand jury, both in England and the United States, the Williams Court explained that the grand jury sits in order to assess whether there is an adequate basis for bringing a criminal charge, rather than to determine guilt or innocence. Therefore, requiring the prosecutor to present exculpatory evidence as well as inculpatory evidence would alter the grand jury's historical role, transforming it from an accusatory to an adjudicatory body. Id. (emphasis added). 40 It can hardly be said that Local Rule 3.8(f) would alter the grand jury's historic role in such a fundamental fashion. It certainly does not transform the grand jury from an accusatory to an adjudicatory body. Indeed, it has no effect whatsoever on the grand jury's accusatory role. Nor does it alter the traditional relationships between prosecutor, court, and grand jury. As we have noted, regulation of attorney conduct is a traditional role for the court--one for which it is particularly well positioned and suited, and one which has never been considered within the purview of the grand jury. Moreover, the Rule has no effect on the evidence ultimately presented by the government. It merely allows the court to determine, before an attorney-subpoena is served, and the damage to the attorney-client relationship caused, whether grounds exist which would render the subpoena subject to an order to quash. Unlike the situation in Williams, Local Rule 3.8(f) does not affect the traditional equation upon which the grand jury deliberates to assess whether there is an adequate basis for bringing criminal charges. 41 We think Williams is clearly distinguishable on the above grounds alone. We note in addition, however, that Williams involved the use of a federal court's supervisory power to dismiss an indictment, while this case involves a district court's power merely to regulate the conduct of attorneys appearing before it. The supervisory power derives from the need for courts to implement a remedy for violation of recognized rights, to preserve judicial integrity by ensuring that a conviction rests on appropriate considerations validly before the jury, and ... to deter illegal conduct. United States v. Hastings, 461 U.S. 499, 505, 103 S.Ct. 1974, 1978, 76 L.Ed.2d 96 (1982) (citations omitted). In contrast, the power of a court to regulate the conduct of attorneys appearing before it derives not from a need to remedy or deter violations of defendants' rights, but from the professional relationship between the court and attorneys appearing before it. See Theard v. United States, 354 U.S. 278, 281, 77 S.Ct. 1274, 1276, 1 L.Ed.2d 1342 (1957) (The court's control over a lawyer's professional life derives from his relation to the responsibilities of a court.); Goldfarb v. Virginia State Bar, 421 U.S. 773, 792, 95 S.Ct. 2004, 2015-16, 44 L.Ed.2d 572 (1975) (The interests of the States in regulating lawyers is especially great since lawyers are essential to the primary governmental function of administering justice, and have historically been 'officers of the courts.' ). Thus, the source and purpose of the two powers distinguishes them. 42 The nature and extent of the power exercised also differ. When a federal court uses its supervisory power to dismiss an indictment it directly encroaches upon the fundamental role of the grand jury. That power is appropriately reserved, therefore, for extremely limited circumstances. See Bank of Nova Scotia v. U.S., 487 U.S. 250, 263, 108 S.Ct. 2369, 2378, 101 L.Ed.2d 228 (1988) (District Court had no authority to dismiss the indictment on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct absent a finding that petitioners were prejudiced by such misconduct). In contrast, the power of a court to regulate the conduct of attorneys appearing before it is traditionally invoked only to impose a sanction, monetary or otherwise, on the offending party, or to recommend disciplinary proceedings. See, e.g., United States v. Claros, 17 F.3d 1041, 1046-47 (7th Cir.1994); Harlan v. Lewis, 982 F.2d 1255, 1259-60 (8th Cir.1993); Zambrano v. City of Tustin, 885 F.2d 1473, 1477-80 (9th Cir.1989). It stands to reason that the more severe the sanction, the more extensive the source of power needed to impose it, and the more closely that power must be circumscribed. It follows that the converse is also true. See Chambers, 501 U.S. at 45, 111 S.Ct. at 2133. 43 For these reasons, we conclude that Williams is not dispositive of the distinct issues in this case. Nor do we think that it vitiates the persuasive authority of our reasoning in Klubock I.
44 In many ways, the attorney-client relationship is the heart of our adversarial system of justice. This is particularly true in criminal cases. See generally Monroe H. Freedman, Understanding Lawyers' Ethics 16 (the lawyer is the client's 'champion against a hostile world'--the client's zealous advocate against the government itself). Clients rely extensively on their attorneys' judgment, advice, and professional competence. Moreover, as legal rules and obligations become more complex, clients are forced to rely increasingly on their attorneys, thus elevating the importance of the attorney-client relationship. 45 The relationship between attorney and client is often an ongoing one, built upon years of professional and social interaction. On other occasions it arises out of a single incident. Sometimes the client and attorney have never met before. Although the dynamics of these relationships differ, the fundamental responsibilities of attorney to client are the same. Attorneys must diligently and competently represent their clients' interests, keep their clients' confidences, and not place themselves in situations where their interests conflict with those of their clients. 15 To fulfill their responsibilities, attorneys need information from their clients. It is necessary to the very foundation of our adversarial system of justice that clients feel secure in divulging to their attorneys the facts in their possession, including those that clients think might be incriminating. See generally 1 McCormack on Evidence Sec. 87, at 316-17 (4th ed. 1992) (describing the importance of attorney loyalty to the client); Stern & Hoffman, supra, at 1826-27 (stressing the need for open communication between attorney and client). 46 A body of substantive law and ethical rules has evolved over the years with the purpose of creating an atmosphere in which free and unfettered communication between attorney and client is, to the greatest extent, encouraged. See supra n. 15. We are concerned with the systemic nature of the attorney-client relationship because of the dynamic inherent in that relationship--the client generally knows the facts and the lawyer generally knows the law. While the law cannot legislate a trusting and open attorney-client relationship, it can encourage it, or, at least, seek to mitigate those situations which might discourage it. 47 This was precisely the rationale underlying the Supreme Court's decision in Hickman v. Taylor, 329 U.S. 495, 511, 67 S.Ct. 385, 393-94, 91 L.Ed. 451 (1947), in which the Court held that attorney work product is privileged. The Court emphasized the need for the attorney-client relationship to be free from unnecessary intrusion by opposing parties and their counsel and noted that introducing attorney work product into evidence would lead to [i]nefficiency, unfairness and sharp practices ... in the giving of legal advice and in the preparation of cases for trial. The Court concluded: The effect on the legal profession would be demoralizing. And the interests of the causes of justice would be poorly served. Id. 48 Local Rule 3.8(f) effectively enables the district court judge to resolve issues with respect to the attorney-subpoena prior to service, in a manner similar to that in a motion to quash hearing, therefore avoiding, in appropriate cases, the detrimental effects to the attorney-client relationship caused by service of a prosecutorial subpoena upon the attorney. We think that Local Rule 3.8(f) serves similar interests as those noted in Hickman, 16 and that its prophylactic nature is consistent with the Supreme Court's recognition that the district court's supervision over the grand jury's subpoena power may be properly exercised ... to prevent the wrong before it occurs. United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338, 94 S.Ct. 613, 38 L.Ed.2d 561 (1974) (emphasis added). 49 We also think the district court is in a much better position than this court to evaluate the need for an ethical rule regulating the practice of its officers, at both the grand jury and trial stages. 17 As Justice Frankfurter explained in upholding the power of district courts to promulgate and enforce rules concerning disbarment of attorneys: 50 [T]he state judicatures and the federal judiciary, have autonomous control over the conduct of their officers, among whom ... lawyers are included. The court's control over a lawyer's professional life derives from his relation to the responsibilities of a court.... 'Membership in the bar is a privilege burdened with conditions. The appellant was received into that ancient fellowship for something more than private gain. He became an officer of the court, and, like the court itself, an instrument or agency to advance the ends of justice.' 51 Theard, 354 U.S. at 281, 77 S.Ct. at 1276 (emphasis added) (quoting People ex rel. Karlin v. Cilkin, 248 N.Y. 465, 162 N.E. 487, 489 (1928) (Cardozo, J.)) (other citations omitted). The judges of the federal district court in Rhode Island are in a position to observe the subpoena practices of attorneys appearing before them. Those judges with more than a few years on the bench have witnessed the increased use of the attorney subpoena as an investigative tool and have been called upon to rule on motions to quash. Considering their acknowledged authority to regulate the conduct of attorneys appearing before them, and to preserve judicial integrity, we think their determination that Local Rule 3.8(f) was necessary to regulate the increased use of the attorney subpoena by federal prosecutors deserves considerable weight. 18 52 Based on the foregoing considerations, we conclude that the minimal effect Local Rule 3.8(f) might have on the grand jury's traditional functions is outweighed by the important, systemic concerns addressed by Local Rule 3.8(f). We therefore conclude that Local Rule 3.8(f) regulates a subject matter within the district courts' rule-making authority. We turn now to the question of whether the Rule is inconsistent with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.