Braswell v. United States (487 U.S. 99)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 22, 1988 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 487 U.S. 99 · 108 S. Ct. 2284
- Decided
- June 22, 1988
- Term
- October Term 1987
- Vote
- 5–4
- Majority author
- Justice Rehnquist
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court. This case presents the question whether the custodian of corporate records may resist a subpoena for such records on the ground that the act of production would incriminate him in violation of the Fifth Amendment. We conclude that he may not. From 1965 to 1980, petitioner Randy Braswell operated his business — which comprises the sale and purchase of equipment, land, timber, and oil and gas interests — as a sole proprietorship. In 1980, he incorporated Worldwide Machinery Sales, Inc., a Mississippi corporation, and began conducting the business through that entity. In 1981, he formed a second Mississippi corporation, Worldwide Purchasing, Inc., and funded that corporation with the 100 percent interest he held in Worldwide Machinery. Petitioner was and is the sole shareholder of Worldwide Purchasing, Inc. Both companies are active corporations, maintaining their current status with the State of Mississippi, filing corporate tax returns, and keeping current corporate books and records. In compliance with Mississippi law, both corporations have three directors, petitioner, his wife, and his mother. Although his wife and mother are secretary-treasurer and vice-president of the corporations, respectively, neither has any authority over the business affairs of either corporation. In August 1986, a federal grand jury issued…
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