Opinion ID: 373802
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: A Meaningful Pre-Indictment Conference

Text: 13 The brokers asserted during oral argument that the Government's own procedures obligated it to provide a pre-indictment conference. They argued that the obligation to provide a pre-indictment conference carried with it an obligation to make that conference meaningful. The district court order, according to the brokers, did nothing more than insure that. Furthermore, according to the brokers, the purpose of the pre-indictment conference was to give the brokers an opportunity to dissuade the Government from requesting their indictment, and the disclosures ordered by the district court simply enabled the brokers to prepare themselves for the conference so that they could make persuasive arguments. 14 The Court finds two faults with this argument. First, the district court order is inconsistent with the scope of the pre-indictment conference that the Government has established. Neither operations nor staff can disclose relevant factual details to counsel (for a target at a pre-indictment conference) since the secrecy provisions of Rule 6(e) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure apply to the evidence developed before the grand jury. The Antitrust Manual, p. III-85. The Government has satisfied its own procedure. Second, this Court is not persuaded that the brokers have no idea of what the grand jury investigation concerns and what they will have to say to persuade the Government not to seek an indictment. Furthermore, the pre-indictment conference itself might well give the brokers some basis for developing arguments to dissuade the Government from seeking an indictment. There is no indication whatsoever that the Government will refuse to listen to any arguments against indictment after the pre-indictment conference.