UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
DEFFENBAUGH INDUSTRIES, INC., doing business as Deffenbaugh
Disposal Services, Inc.; Ronald D. Deffenbaugh;
Joseph E. Wehmeyer, Defendants-Appellees.
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
DEFFENBAUGH INDUSTRIES, INC., doing business as Deffenbaugh
Disposal Services, Inc., Defendant-Appellant.
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Ronald D. DEFFENBAUGH, Defendant-Appellant.
Nos. 91-3187, 91-3199, 91-3200.
United States Court of Appeals,
Tenth Circuit.
Feb. 18, 1992.
Rehearing Denied March 20, 1992.
James W. Lowe, Attorney (James F. Rill, Asst. Atty. Gen., Charles A. James, Deputy Asst. Atty. Gen., John J. Powers, III, and David Seidman, Attorneys, Of Counsel, David A. Blotner, Dwight Dickinson, and David J. Lang, Attorneys, with him on the briefs), Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for U.S.
Gordon Ankney of Thompson & Mitchell, St. Louis, Mo. (Richard D. Rhyne of Craft, Fridkin & Rhyne, Kansas City, Mo., with him on the briefs, for Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc. and Richard J. Braun of Richard J. Braun & Associates, Nashville, Tenn., for Ronald D. Deffenbaugh, also with him on the briefs).
Before HOLLOWAY, LOGAN and BALDOCK, Circuit Judges.
LOGAN, Circuit Judge.
In No. 91-3187 the United States filed an interlocutory appeal, permitted by 18 U.S.C. § 3731, of the district court's order dismissing Count 10 of the indictment against defendants Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc., and Ronald D. Deffenbaugh. That count charged defendants with willfully and knowingly making and submitting to the Department of Justice "false, fictitious and fraudulent statements and representations about material facts in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice" in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. In cross-appeal Nos. 91-3199 and 91-3200 defendants filed an interlocutory appeal of the district court's denial of various motions. In the cross-appeals, however, the only issue briefed was the denial of a motion seeking access to the record of the number of persons concurring in the finding of the indictment, and at oral argument counsel conceded that was the only issue being pursued in the cross-appeals.
* No. 91-3187
We must consider the United States' appeal, although it is interlocutory, because it is explicitly permitted by 18 U.S.C. § 3731. See United States v. Wilson,
In Count 10 of the indictment, the United States contended that defendants violated the false statements statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1001, when they submitted a false affidavit of compliance in response to a grand jury subpoena duces tecum issued by a federal grand jury.1 The subpoena required defendant Deffenbaugh Industries to produce all documents reflecting payments to its creditors. The subpoena is not part of the record, but the government represents that the subpoena ordered the documents to be delivered directly to the grand jury itself. Reply Brief for Appellant at 1 n. 1. It was not the subpoena, but a letter from a government lawyer, which gave Deffenbaugh Industries the option of submitting the documents to the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., rather than to the grand jury.2
Defendants chose to submit the documents to the Department of Justice and were required by the Department, in accordance with its usual procedure, to sign a form affidavit prepared by the Department stating that "[t]o the best of my knowledge, information and belief" the documents sent "constitute all the documents in the possession, custody or control of the Company that fall within the terms of the subpoena and compliance with the subpoena has been fully and completely complied with." Affidavit of Compliance, Motion to Supplement Record on Appeal, filed June 3, 1991, app. A. The government alleged that defendants intentionally withheld production of certain documents, and, therefore, the affidavit of compliance constituted a false statement under 18 U.S.C. § 1001.
Defendants made various arguments concerning their compliance. The only argument we address, and which we find controlling, is that the affidavit under the circumstances here is not within the ambit of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. That section says specifically that to constitute a false statement it must be "in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States." Defendants assert that the affidavit is not on a matter within the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice but was one within the jurisdiction of the grand jury itself. The government contends that because its role is to aid and abet the activities of the grand jury, it has the power to require the affidavit and to punish under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 any falsity.
This is an issue of first impression in an appellate court so far as we can ascertain. We have found one district court case in which a witness was indicted under § 1001 for allegedly false answers to questions propounded to him by a grand jury. United States v. Allen,
"The Constitution itself makes the grand jury a part of the judicial process." Cobbledick v. United States,
In Rodgers the Supreme Court has found jurisdiction under § 1001 when there is either a statutory basis for an agency or department's request for information,
"Because no judicial officer is present to preside over the daily operation of the grand jury and the accused and his counsel are not generally present, the prosecutor's role is necessarily different in grand jury proceedings than at trial. In addition to presenting the government's case, prosecutors also perform some quasi-judicial functions in the grand jury setting."
Beale & Bryson § 6.02, at 6-4.
The key question is whether the role of the prosecutor as this unique kind of aide to the grand jury amounts to a grant of "power to exercise authority" to the Justice Department within the contemplation of Rodgers for application of § 1001. The district court answered "no." While it is not an easy question, given the differing views of the courts in somewhat analogous situations, we hold that the district court correctly decided the issue.
The government attorneys prepare and secure the issuance of subpoenas. See, e.g., First Nat'l Bank v. United States Dep't of Justice,
We are also reluctant to allow the Justice Department, which apparently initiated the discovery subpoena, the power to prosecute under § 1001 persons who allegedly did not comply completely. There is considerable room for error or misunderstanding in compliance with subpoenas duces tecum. Parties considering discovery requests in any litigation situation, including grand jury proceedings, often will interpret such commands narrowly. To give the Department of Justice power to prosecute allegedly false statements under § 1001 in connection with a form affidavit of compliance with a subpoena would give the government a more powerful weapon than we believe Congress intended. See United States v. D'Amato,
Accordingly, we AFFIRM the district court's determination that the allegedly false statements in the affidavit of compliance are not within the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice for purposes of § 1001, and its dismissal of Count 10 of the indictment.
II
Nos. 91-3199 and 91-3200
* In the cross-appeals defendants challenge the district court's refusal to allow defendants access to the record of the number of jurors concurring in the indictment. The government argues that we lack jurisdiction to hear this appeal from an interlocutory collateral order. We hold that we have jurisdiction, however, under the collateral order exception first articulated in Cohen v. Beneficial Industrial Loan Corp.,
The first and second elements of the test clearly are met. The court's order fully determined the access question, and whether there were adequate grand jury votes to support the indictment is a matter completely collateral to the merits of the case.
The third element of the collateral order exception is also satisfied here, because technical challenges to the grand jury charging process such as those found here are not reviewable upon appeal after trial. In Midland Asphalt Corp. v. United States,
Because the court's order implicates defendants' right not to be tried, the order is unreviewable on appeal from a final judgment. Id. at 800-01,
The government argues that although a motion to dismiss based upon the technical validity of a grand jury indictment might be reviewable under the Cohen exception, defendants attempt an appeal of a mere discovery motion, and that should not be allowed. We believe defendants' constitutional right not to be subject to trial without a grand jury indictment would be meaningless if defendants were unable to even attempt discovery of the relevant facts surrounding the grand jury indicting proceeding. Defendants deserve the opportunity to show that they are entitled to access to the information to prove such defects. Accord Tobias,
B
In their cross-appeal defendants contend that the district court erred in denying their motion for access to the record of the number of grand jurors who voted to indict them. They are not satisfied by the district court's assurance, after an in camera inspection of the record, that a sufficient number of grand jurors voted to indict.
Fed.R.Crim.P. 6(c) provides that the record of the number of grand jurors voting to indict "shall not be made public except on order of the court."5 The rule affirms that the well-established rule of grand jury secrecy, e.g., United States v. Procter & Gamble Co.,
We will review the district court's denial of motion for access to the grand jury voting record under an abuse of discretion standard. See, e.g., In re Lynde,
Defendants in their briefs argue two grounds for wanting to discover the number of grand jurors concurring to indict.6 First, they contend that they have a right to know that the required twelve or more jurors voted to indict. See Fed.R.Crim.P. 6(f). Second, they make vague allegations to the effect that they have a right to know the exact number of those voting to indict to allow them to determine whether they should move to dismiss based upon lack of legal qualifications of individual jurors. At oral argument, counsel for defendants argued only the first ground.
Defendants rely principally upon United States v. Bullock,
In United States v. Missler,
Bullock itself is distinguishable from the case before us on its facts, in that the defendant there had filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, and the trial court apparently did nothing to address the defendant's contention that fewer than twelve grand jurors concurred in the indictment. Bullock,
If Bullock and the other authorities citing that opinion stand for the proposition that defendants are always entitled to view the report of the foreman of the grand jury specifying the number of votes for the indictment, we respectfully disagree. We do believe defendants are entitled to the assurance of the district judge that the judge has inspected the report and it contains twelve or more votes to indict. But anything more, except upon a showing of particularized need, would negate Rule 6(c)'s requirement of secrecy absent an "order of the court."
There are also other reasons for upholding Congress' determination that the Rule 6(c) voting record generally should not be made public. One reason motivating the grand jury secrecy rule is the need to protect grand jurors from intimidation or retaliation. See In re Grand Jury Investigation,
Defendants' other justification for wanting to see the grand jury vote total--to allow them to determine whether they should move to dismiss based upon lack of legal qualifications of individual jurors--appears to be totally speculative and no more than a pretext. Review of the Rule 6(c) voting record will not lead to evidence that particular jurors were not legally qualified to sit on the grand jury. The Rule 6(c) voting record filed with the clerk of the court in this case is simply a standard form supplied by the Administrative Office (DC 53) identifying the court, the date, the location of the grand jury, the number of grand jurors concurring to indict, and the signature of the grand jury foreperson. Such a record without more cannot justify a motion to dismiss based upon legal qualifications of the grand jurors.
Accordingly, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendants access to the grand jury voting record.
In summary, the district court's order dismissing Count 10 of the indictment is AFFIRMED. The government's motion to supplement the record on appeal is GRANTED; its motion to dismiss the cross-appeals is DENIED. The trial court's denial of defendants' motion for access to the grand jury's voting record is AFFIRMED.
Notes
18 U.S.C. § 1001 provides:
"Whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or makes any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations, or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."
That letter states,
"Your company has been served with a subpoena calling for the production of documents before a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Missouri. This is to advise you that in lieu of personally producing the documents before the grand jury, the Company may, at its option, comply with the subpoena by sending the documents to me at the Antitrust Division's offices in Washington, D.C., by registered mail or prepaid express."
Letter of Aug. 18, 1988, Motion to Supplement Record on Appeal, filed June 3, 1991, App. A. We grant the government's motion to supplement the record, because we find the documents it seeks to include in the record important to an understanding of the issues before us.
The prosecutor's unique role as an assistant to the grand jury and the fact that the affidavit and discovery were in response to the grand jury's subpoena distinguishes this case from cases like United States v. Barber,
Tobias cites United States v. Benjamin,
Rule 6(c) provides in relevant part: "The foreperson or another juror designated by the foreperson shall keep record of the number of jurors concurring in the finding of every indictment and shall file the record with the clerk of the court, but the record shall not be made public except on order of the court."
In the district court defendants argued a third ground for disclosure of grand jury voting records. They asserted that the grand jury is required to vote on each count and each defendant named in an indictment separately. This argument was not argued on appeal and is waived
United States v. Marshall,
