Bowman Dairy Co. et al. v. United States et al. (341 U.S. 214)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 30, 1951 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 341 U.S. 214 · 71 S. Ct. 675
- Docket
- No. 435
- Argued
- March 9, 1951
- Decided
- April 30, 1951
- Term
- October Term 1950
- Vote
- 7–1
- Majority author
- Justice Minton
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Vacated and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
How the Justices voted
- Majority
- Chief Justice Vinson, Justice Minton (wrote), Justice Burton, Justice R. H. Jackson, Justice Douglas, Justice Frankfurter, Justice Reed
- Dissenting
- Justice Black
Opinion excerpt
Mr. Justice Minton delivered the opinion of the Court. Petitioners were indicted for a violation of § 1 of the Sherman Act-. Before the case was set for trial, each petitioner filed a motion under Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure for an order requiring the United States to produce for inspection all books, papers, documents, or objects obtained from petitioners and obtained by seizure or process from others. An agreed order was entered by the court and the Government fully complied therewith. The validity of this order is not in question. Petitioners also moved under Rule 17 (c) for an order directing the Government at a time and place to be specified therein to produce for inspection certain other books, papers, documents and objects obtained by the Government by means other than seizure or process. Petitioners filed and served on the Government attorneys a subpoena duces tecum, the pertinent part of which reads as follows: “all documents, books, papers and objects (except memoranda prepared by Government counsel, and documents or papers solicited by or volunteered to Government counsel which consist of narrative statements of persons or memoranda of interviews), obtained by Government counsel, in any manner other than by seizure or process, (a) in the course of the investigation by Grand Jury No. 8949 which resulted in the return of the indictment herein,…
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