Swidler & Berlin and James Hamilton v. United States (524 U.S. 399)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 25, 1998 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 524 U.S. 399 · 118 S. Ct. 2081
- Decided
- June 25, 1998
- Term
- October Term 1997
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Rehnquist
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court. Petitioner James Hamilton, an attorney, made notes of an initial interview with a client shortly before the client’s death. The Government, represented by the Office of Independent Counsel, now seeks his notes for use in a criminal investigation. We hold that the notes are protected by the attorney-client privilege. This dispute arises out of an investigation conducted by the Office of the Independent Counsel into whether various individuals made false statements, obstructed justice, or committed other crimes during investigations of the 1998 dismissal of employees from the White House Travel Office. Vincent W. Poster, Jr., was Deputy White House Counsel when the firings occurred. In July 1993, Poster met with petitioner Hamilton, an attorney at petitioner Swid-ler & Berlin, to seek legal representation concerning possible congressional or other investigations of the firings. During a 2-hour meeting, Hamilton took three pages of handwritten notes. One of the first entries in the notes is the word “Privileged.” Nine days later, Foster committed suicide. In December 1995, a federal grand jury, at the request of the Independent Counsel, issued subpoenas to petitioners Hamilton and Swidler & Berlin for, inter alia, Hamilton’s handwritten notes of his meeting with Foster. Petitioners filed a motion to quash, arguing that…
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