This chapter focuses on the means by which federal prosecutors may obtain, for evidentiary purposes, documentary material believed to be in the possession of disinterested third parties. These provisions have been drafted to be consistent with the previously published Attorney General's "Guidelines on Methods of Obtaining Documentary Materials Held by Third Parties," 28 C.F.R., Part 59, as well as with Section 201 of Title II of the Privacy Protection Act of 1980, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000aa et seq.

The intent of the regulations (28 C.F.R., Part 59) is to protect against unnecessary invasions of personal privacy and to recognize the potential for such invasions when the government seeks to obtain documentary materials from third parties not themselves under investigation. The general thrust of these guidelines is that a search warrant should not be used to obtain documentary materials from a non-suspect, except where the use of a subpoena or other less intrusive means would jeopardize the availability or usefulness of the materials sought.

For Government attorneys contemplating the use of a search warrant directed at seizing materials from disinterested third parties, different provisions apply depending on whether the person from whom the materials are sought is: (1) a disinterested third party (see JM 9-19.210); (2) a disinterested third party who is a physician, lawyer, or clergyman (see JM 9-19.220 and 230); or (3) a person possessing the materials sought for the purposes of public communication (e.g., a newspaper, book, or broadcast) (see JM 9-19.240). The use of search warrants directed at seizing documentary materials from the media or any "person reasonably believed to have a purpose to disseminate to the public a newspaper, book, broadcast, or other similar form of communication" is strictly regulated by statute, see 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000aa, et seq. Search warrants directed at seizing materials from other categories of disinterested third parties are governed by the regulations promulgated in accordance with that statute, see 28 C.F.R., Part 59.

[updated January 2020]