Opinion ID: 278889
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Denial of Pre-Trial Discovery

Text: 22 On May 19, 1966, the company served on the Regional Director a document entitled 'Interrogatories, or Alternatively, Request for Bill of Particulars and Request for Inspection.' This sought discovery in detail of the facts upon which the complaint was based, the identity of persons having knowledge of those facts and the conditions, custody and location of any documents or other tangible evidence bearing on the case. Item 22 of the Interrogatories requested that petitioner be given an opportunity to inspect and copy any such matter in the hands of the Regional Director. 23 In addition, petitioner directed a subpena duces tecum to the Regional Director calling upon him to appear before a notary public at his office on June 15, 1966, and to produce matter described in the subpena as 'all written statements, other documents, photographs, and other tangible things in your possession or under your control which were obtained by agents of the Sixteenth Regional Office in investigating Case No. 16-CA-2519   ' 24 On June 2, 1966, the petitioner's Interrogatories were denied except in a few minor particulars, and its subpena was revoked on June 13. Petitioners assign this as error.
25 The request for such a broad bill of particulars was obviously without merit. The National Labor Relations Board is not required to plead its evidence. All that is required of a valid complaint before the Board is a plain statement of the facts claimed to constitute an unfair labor practice. A bill of particulars is justified only when the complaint is so vague that the party charged is unable to meet the General Counsel's case. See, e.g., American Newspaper Pub. Ass'n v. N.L.R.B., 193 F.2d 782 (7th Cir. 1951), aff'd, 345 U.S. 100, 73 S.Ct. 552, 97 L.Ed. 852 (1953); and General Drivers and Helpers Union, Local 662 v. N.L.R.B. (N.L.R.B. v. Rice Lake Creamery Co.), 112 U.S.App.D.C. 323, 302 F.2d 908, 912 (1962), cert. den., Rice Lake Creamery Co. v. General Drivers & Helpers Union, etc., 371 U.S. 827, 83 S.Ct. 48, 9 L.Ed.2d 65 (1963). To the extent the complaint was this vague, additional information was given to correct it.
26 The request for interrogatories was also without merit. The request was apparently based on Section 10(b) of the Act, which provides in relevant part: 27 'Any such proceeding shall, so far as practicable, be conducted in accordance with the rules of evidence applicable in the district courts of the United States under the rules of civil procedure for the district courts of the United States, adopted by the Supreme Court of the United States pursuant to section 2072 of Title 28.' 28 It is well settled that the language of Section 10(b) relating to the 'rules of evidence' does not require the Board to adopt the discovery procedure contemplated by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The reasons for this were explained in N.L.R.B. v. Vapor Blast Mfg. Co., 287 F.2d 402, 407 (7th Cir. 1961), cert. den., 368 U.S. 823, 82 S.Ct. 42, 7 L.Ed.2d 28 (1961): 29 'Even if 'rules of evidence' is interpreted to mean 'rules of procedure,' it is in the first instance the responsibility of the Board to formulate its own rules for unfair practice hearings and to determine whether full discovery is 'practicable' in such hearings.' 30 See also, e.g., Raser Tanning Co. v. N.L.R.B., 276 F.2d 80 (6th Cir. 1960); N.L.R.B. v. Quest-Shon Mark Brassiere Co., 185 F.2d 285 (2nd Cir. 1950), cert. den. 342 U.S. 812, 72 S.Ct. 25, 96 L.Ed. 614 (1951).
31 Section 11(1) of the National Labor Relations Act, 29 U.S.C. 161(1), contains the only express statutory procedure for the issuance and revocation of Board subpenas. In relevant part, Section 11(1) provides as follows: 32 'The Board, or its duly authorized agents or agencies, shall at all reasonable times have access to, for the purpose of examination, and the right to copy any evidence of any person being investigated or proceeded against that relates to any matter under investigation or in question. The Board, or any member thereof, shall upon application of any party to such proceedings, forthwith issue to such party subpenas requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of any evidence in such proceeding or investigation requested in such application. Within five days after the service of a subpena on any person requiring the production of any evidence in his possession or under his control, such person may petition the Board to revoke, and the Board shall revoke, such subpena if in its opinion the evidence whose production is required does not relate to any matter under investigation, or any matter in question in such proceedings, or if in its opinion such subpena does not describe with sufficient particularity the evidence whose production is required.' 33 The courts have universally recognized the General Counsel's authority under Section 11(1) to compel disclosure of evidence by persons charged with violations of the Act in advance of the unfair practice hearing. See, e.g., Storkline Corp. v. N.L.R.B., 298 F.2d 276 (5th Cir. 1962); N.L.R.B. v. Anchor Rome Mills, 197 F.2d 447 (5th Cir. 1952); N.L.R.B. v. British Auto Parts, Inc., 266 F.Supp. 368 (D.Cal.1967). 34 However, Section 102.118 of the Board's rules and regulations (29 U.S.C.App. 102.118) prevent those charged with unfair labor practices from discovering evidence held by the Board or its employees, unless the Board or General Counsel consents to its production or release. 5 This regulation was promulgated under Section 6 of the Act (29 U.S.C. 156), which empowers the Board to adopt rules and regulations to carry out its functions in a manner consistent with the fulfillment of the purposes of the Act. 6 Thus, the regulation is invalid if it has the effect of enlarging the Board's authority beyond the scope intended by Congress. 35 Petitioner's pre-hearing subpena was revoked by the trial examiner on the sole ground that the General Counsel had not consented to the production of the material pursuant to Section 102.118 of the Board's rules and regulations. Petitoners argue that this is an invalid ground for the revocation of a subpena because it is not one of the grounds for revocation provided for in Section 11(1) of the Act. However, the statute in question does not state that petitions to revoke subpenas can only be made on the two grounds mentioned therein; rather, it states that a subpena shall be revoked if one of the two grounds exist. Thus, insofar as the statute is concerned, the Board may also revoke a subpena on any other ground which is consistent with the purpose of the Act. See General Engineering, Inc. v. N.L.R.B., 341 F.2d 367, 372-373 (9th Cir. 1965). 36 D. Denial of Request for Evidence Inconsistent with, or Contradictory to, Testimony Introduced by the General Counsel 37 At the time of the completion of the General Counsel's case the petitioner demanded an order compelling him to disclose any and all evidence inconsistent with the evidence presented. The trial examiner refused to compel the General Counsel to make this general disclosure. According to petitioner's brief, the hope was to obtain some witness statements that would help it in the presentation of its case. Affidavits of two witnesses had been voluntarily given to the petitioner's counsel by the witnesses. These showed some inconsistency with that of the testimony given by Mary Guazdausky who was a principal witness called by the General Counsel. Because of this, petitioner argues that there might have been other evidence which would help it. 38 The argument is an ingenious one based upon the Supreme Court's decision in Brady v. State of Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215. In Brady the Supreme Court severely condemned suppression by the prosecution of evidence material to guilt or to punishment. The particular item which the prosecution had there suppressed was a statement of a co-defendant acknowledging that he had done the actual killing. The Supreme Court held this suppression to be a denial of due process. Brady did not declare that a prosecutor must on demand comb his file for bits and pieces of evidence which conceivably could be favorable to the defense. That would be the effect of upholding petitioner's demand. Thus we are not now confronted with a question of constitutional law magnitude; nor are we required to decide whether a wilful suppression of crucial evidence would be error. 39 We are mindful that the Jencks principle 7 has been adopted by Board regulation. This followed the ruling of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in N.L.R.B. v. Adhesive Products Corp., 258 F.2d 403. 8 However, it does not follow from this or from Brady, supra, that petitioner was entitled to the blanket order which was here demanded. The denial by the examiner of petitioner's demand was not error. 40 The Board's order, with the exception of that pertaining to Carl White's phone privileges, is enforced.