In Re Grand Jury Witness. Richard J. Salas v. United States of America, in Re Grand Jury Witness. Shelly Waxman v. United States

The government issued subpoenas duces tecum to two attorneys representing targets of a grand jury investigation. The attorneys appeal from a district court order finding them in contempt for their refusal to provide certain documents relating to their employment by the targets. We find that the subpoenas may intrude into areas protected by the attorney-client privilege and we are accordingly obliged to partially modify the judgment of contempt.

FACTS

For several months the federal grand jury in Fresno has been investigating the affairs of Paul Bell, the Belanco Religious Order, Chemical Supply Company, Jerry Mitchell, and Virginia Mitchell. The Belanco Religious Order is a tax protest organization espousing the belief, inter alia, that payment of income taxes is immoral and voluntary.

In connection with this investigation the government issued subpoenas to appellants Waxman and Salas, attorneys representing the several named grand jury targets. The subpoenas called for each to appear before the grand jury with the following documents:

The attorneys filed a motion to quash the subpoenas on a variety of legal grounds, including the attorney-client privilege. The government…