Dreier v. United States
Headline: Court upholds contempt order and requires a company secretary to hand over corporate records to a grand jury, rejecting his personal Fifth Amendment claim and enforcing corporate document production.
Holding: The Court held that a company secretary must produce corporate books and papers to a grand jury and cannot refuse by invoking personal Fifth Amendment protection.
- Corporate custodians cannot shield company records by claiming personal self-incrimination.
- Grand juries can compel corporate documents from custodians when properly subpoenaed.
- Custodians who withhold corporate papers risk contempt and commitment.
Summary
Background
William Dreier, the secretary of a New York company, was subpoenaed to bring company books and papers before a grand jury investigating alleged customs-law violations by others. The subpoena included a clause to testify, but the dispute here concerned only the demand for corporate documents. Dreier refused to produce the records and was held in contempt and committed. He sought review by writ of error and on habeas corpus, arguing that producing the papers would incriminate him under the Fifth Amendment (protection against self-incrimination); he also argued waiver, which the Court did not reach.
Reasoning
The Court considered whether an individual holding a corporation’s records may refuse production by claiming a personal privilege against self-incrimination. It ruled that corporate books and papers are the corporation’s records, not the individual’s private papers, and that a custodian must produce them when properly called for. The opinion noted a companion case where the writ was directed to the corporation itself, and applied the same rule here when the process was addressed to the custodian. Because Dreier had no personal privilege in the corporate documents, he was required to obey the subpoena and the contempt judgment was affirmed.
Real world impact
The decision makes clear that people who keep company records cannot hide those corporate documents behind a personal self-incrimination claim during grand jury investigations. Custodians served with proper process must produce corporate papers or face contempt. This enforces grand-jury access to corporate records under the circumstances described.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice McKenna agreed with the result but based his concurrence on the view that Dreier had waived any privilege.
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