In re Sealed Case

825 F.2d 494 (1987)

From our private database of 47,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

In re Sealed Case

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
825 F.2d 494 (1987)

Solveig Singleton headshot
  • Written by Solveig Singleton, JD

Facts

A grand jury was convened to investigate some customers of a bank owned by the government of Country X (Bank X) (defendant). Bank X conducted business in Country Y and in the United States. A manager for Bank X (defendant) was familiar with the customers under investigation and their transactions. The manager had family and assets in Country Y but was a citizen of Country X and worked in the United States. The grand jury subpoenaed documents created and held by Bank X’s branch in Country Y and subpoenaed the manager’s testimony. Both Bank X and the manager declined to testify or produce documents relating to the banking activities of Bank X’s customers. Under Country Y’s bank-secrecy law, revealing customers’ bank information to anyone other than the customers was a crime. The lower court ordered the manager and Bank X to comply with the subpoena. Bank X and the manager refused on grounds of the Fifth Amendment’s right against self-incrimination and the principle of comity. Bank X and the manager noted that compliance would violate Country Y’s bank-secrecy law. The trial court found Bank X and the manager in civil contempt.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Per curiam)

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 968,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  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.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 968,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,500 briefs, keyed to 1,007 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.
  • AI-generated podcast version of every brief — listen on the go, between classes, or whenever reading isn’t an option. New

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 968,000 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
  • 47,500 briefs - keyed to 1,007 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

Casebooks

International Business Transactions

Key Terms

  • Grand JuryA group of individuals convened for the purpose of reviewing evidence in criminal proceedings and deciding whether to issue an indictment.
  • ComityThe principle of respect and recognition that one political entity, such as a nation or state, accords to another, such as with respect to the operation of an entity’s laws within its territory.
  • Act-of-State DoctrineThe principle that every sovereign state is bound to respect the independence of every other sovereign state in governing its internal affairs, and the courts of a nation will not question the legality of a foreign state’s sovereign acts conducted within the foreign state's own territory.
  • International ComityA practice of showing courtesy among nations. It occurs when one country shows respect for the laws, judicial decisions, and institutions of another.
  • Civil ContemptA power of the court to compel a party to comply with the court’s order by assessing civil fines or imposing incarceration until compliance with the order is achieved or compliance is shown to be impossible.
  • SubpoenaA formal written document directing a party to appear in court or produce documents to another party or to the court.
  • ContemptConduct that violates a court order or the court’s integrity, thereby rendering the contemnor subject to penalties.
  • Fifth Amendment Privilege against Self-IncriminationConstitutional protection that prevents the government from compelling a person to give testimony against himself.
  • SovereignA group or body with the power of self-governance.

Understand your casebook readings in seconds

Use our case briefs to comprehend your casebook readings faster, supplement your notes and outlines, and outshine your peers in class.

Get instant access to over 47,500+ expert-written case briefs in a searchable database keyed to 1,007 law school casebooks.

Case book preview
Start your free 7-day trial