In re Grand Jury Subpoena

The First Circuit granted a writ of advisory mandamus sought by the Rhode Island Department of Education and Training (Department) and directed the district court to vacate its denial of a motion to quash a federal grand jury subpoena of certain Department records, holding that the District of Rhode Island erred in ruling that the attorney-client privilege is categorically unavailable to a state government in receipt of a federal grand jury subpoena.A federal grand jury sitting in the District of Rhode Island subpoenaed certain records from the Department. The Department moved to quash the subpoena to the extent it sought to compel production of documents containing confidential communications between Department staff and legal counsel. The district court denied the motion to quash, concluding that, as a categorical matter, the attorney-client privilege does not shield communications between government lawyers and their clients from a federal grand jury. The First Circuit granted the Department’s petition for a writ of advisory mandamus directing the district court to quash the subpoena, holding that this Court does not sustain the categorical rule that a state government has no attorney-client privilege that can be invoked in response to a grand jury subpoena. View "In re Grand Jury Subpoena" on Justia Law