In re Grand Jury, John Doe No. G.J. 2005-2

478 F.3d 581 (2007)

From our private database of 46,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

In re Grand Jury, John Doe No. G.J. 2005-2

United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
478 F.3d 581 (2007)

Facts

Following an arrest, a complaint was filed against an officer of a city police department (the department) for excessive use of force. The department’s internal-affairs office conducted an investigation, which included interviews with officers. The department’s policy required officers to fully comply with internal investigations or risk their employment, but the policy also guaranteed that any material uncovered during an investigation would not be used in criminal proceedings against the officers. The federal government (plaintiff) began an investigation into the same arrest incident to determine whether any civil-rights violations had occurred. As part of the government’s investigation, a grand jury issued a subpoena duces tecum demanding production of the department’s internal-investigation materials. The city (defendant) moved to quash the subpoena. The city argued that compliance would be unreasonable because removing the assurance of confidentiality would damage the effectiveness of internal investigations and because the interviewed officers’ Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination could be infringed on. The government argued that it needed the material to close its investigation file and that it did not expect the documents to lead to any prosecutable offenses. The district court granted the city’s motion to quash, and the government appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Wilkinson, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,500 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership