United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc.

463 U.S. 418 (1983)

Facts

A grand jury indicted a Sells (D) and two company officers on two counts of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and nine counts of tax fraud. Ds plead guilty on some of the counts, and the rest were dropped. The Government then moved for disclosure of all grand jury materials to attorneys at the Justice Department for use in preparing and conducting possible civil suits against Ds. Ds opposed the disclosure. The District Court granted the disclosure and the Ninth Circuit vacated and remanded holding disclosure was governed by Rule 6(e)(3)(C)(i) of the Fed Rules of Crim Pro.