United States v. Global Fishing, Inc.

The Russian government sought the aid of the United States government, pursuant to a bilateral treaty, in its criminal investigation and prosecution of Appellant Arkadi A. Gontmakher for illegal crabbing. The district court issued a subpoena for certain *562 documents in the possession of Appellant Global Fishing, Inc. Appellants moved for a protective order that effectively would have quashed the subpoena, arguing that the Russian government’s investigation and prosecution of Gontmakher were corrupt and illegal. The district court denied the motion, and we affirm.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Congress long ago authorized parties to request legal assistance from the federal courts in the collection of evidence for use in a foreign proceeding. Originally enacted in the mid-19th century, the statute now codified at 28 U.S.C. § 1782 permits federal courts to provide such assistance. See, e.g., Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., 542 U.S. 241, 247-49 , 124 S.Ct. 2466 , 159 L.Ed.2d 355 (2004) (discussing the history of the statute at some length). Section 1782, in its current form, states:

28 U.S.C. § 1782 (a).

To invoke § 1782 and obtain federal-court…