United States v. Zolin

491 U.S. 554 (1989)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Tapes that involved the Church of Scientology were sealed as part of the resolution of a civil action. While doing a tax investigation, the Internal Revenue Service (P) subpoenaed these tapes. The Church moved to quash the subpoena. P countered this motion by requesting that the Court conduct an in camera proceeding to determine whether or not the crime-fraud exception to the attorney-client privilege applied. The IRS argued, among other things, that the tapes fell within the exception to the attorney-client privilege for communications in furtherance of future illegal conduct - the so-called 'crime-fraud' exception - and urged the District Court to listen to the tapes in making its privilege determination. The court ruled that the tapes need not be produced since they contained privileged attorney-client communications to which, the quoted excerpts revealed, the crime-fraud exception did not apply. The court rejected the request that it listen to the tapes, on the ground that that request had been abandoned in favor of using the agent's declaration as the basis for determining the privilege question. The Court of Appeals affirmed that the Government's evidence of crime or fraud must come from sources independent of the attorney-client communications on the tapes.