United States v. Nixon
Headline: Court partially unseals a sealed record to disclose a grand jury’s nineteen-to-zero probable-cause finding implicating Richard Nixon, while keeping the rest of the record confidential and sealed.
Holding: The Court refused a broad unsealing request but allowed a limited disclosure showing a grand jury’s nineteen-to-zero probable-cause finding that Richard Nixon was involved, and it kept the rest of the record sealed.
- Reveals grand jury's nineteen-to-zero probable-cause finding about Richard Nixon.
- Keeps the remainder of the sealed record confidential and unavailable to the public.
- Requires sealed briefs and bars counsel from disclosing sealed material at oral argument.
Summary
Background
A joint motion from the Special Prosecutor and counsel for the President asked the Court to unseal portions of a record that a lower court had ordered sealed on May 13, 1974. The Court considered petitions and related filings transmitted from the D.C. Circuit. The grand jury that considered the indictment on June 5, 1972, on February 25, 1974, voted nineteen-to-zero that there was probable cause to believe Richard M. Nixon was part of the conspiracy charged in Count I, and it authorized the Special Prosecutor to identify him as an unindicted coconspirator in later proceedings.
Reasoning
The Court denied the joint motion to broadly unseal the record but allowed a single extract to be released that reports the grand jury’s nineteen-to-zero probable-cause determination and authorization to identify Nixon as an unindicted coconspirator. The Court left the remainder of the sealed record under seal. The Justices also asked the parties to brief two procedural questions: whether a May 20, 1974 district court order is appealable and whether this Court has power to decide a petition for writ of mandamus sent up from the Court of Appeals. The Court ordered that printed filings under seal need not be produced and that any confidential brief material remain under seal.
Real world impact
Practically, the ruling lets the public know the grand jury’s unanimous probable-cause finding about Richard Nixon while preserving overall secrecy of the record. The Special Prosecutor is authorized, in connection with later proceedings, to identify Nixon as an unindicted coconspirator as the grand jury directed. The order is procedural rather than a final decision on the underlying charges; the Court sought further briefing on appealability and mandamus before resolving those issues.
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