Jencks v. United States, 353 U.S. 657 (1957), is a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the court held that the federal government must produce documents relied upon by government witnesses in federal criminal proceedings.
The petitioner, Clinton Jencks appealed, by certiorari, his conviction in a federal district court of violating 18 U.S.C. 1001 by filing, under 9 (h) of the National Labor Relations Act, as president of a labor union, an affidavit stating falsely that he was not a member of the Communist Party or affiliated with such Party. Crucial testimony against him was given by two paid undercover agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who stated on cross-examination that they made regular oral or written reports to the FBI on the matters about which they had testified.
Jencks moved for production of these reports in court for inspection by the judge with a view to their possible use by the petitioner in impeaching such testimony. His motions were denied. Jencks appealed this issue by petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari. The Court held that the denial of the motions for production of the documents was erroneous, and the conviction was reversed.
Issues
1.) The Court was asked to rule on the appropriateness of the Government withholding documents or statements made by, or relied upon, by government witnesses in federal criminal prosecutions.
2.) Further error was alleged because the jury had not been instructed on the affiliation, membership, and the credibility of the government informants who testified at trial against Jencks.
Holdings
(a.) The Petitioner was not required to lay a preliminary foundation for his motion, showing inconsistency between the contents of the reports and the testimony of the government agents, because a sufficient foundation was established by their testimony that their reports were of the events and activities related in their testimony.
(b.) Petitioner was entitled to an order directing the Government to produce for inspection all written reports of FBI agents in its possession, and, when orally made and recorded by the FBI, statements bearing upon events and activities as to which they testified at trial.
(c.) Petitioner is entitled to inspect the reports to decide whether to use them in his defense.
(d.) The practice of producing government documents to the trial judge for his determination of relevancy and materiality, without a hearing involving the accused, is disapproved.
(e.) Only after inspection of the reports by the accused, must the trial judge determine admissibility of the contents and the method to be employed for the elimination of parts immaterial or irrelevant.
(f.) Criminal action must be dismissed when the Government, on the ground of privilege, elects not to comply with an order to produce, for the accused's inspection and for admission in evidence, relevant statements or reports in its possession of government witnesses touching the subject matter of their testimony at trial.
(g.) The burden is the Government's, not to be shifted to the trial judge, to decide whether the public prejudice of allowing the crime to go unpunished is greater than that attendant upon the possible disclosure of state secrets and other confidential information in the Government's possession.
(h.) The proper remedy in cases which the Government chooses not to disclose or produce documents it deems sensitive, or wants to keep private for security reasons is dismissal of the criminal charges.
Facts and background
On April 28, 1950, the petitioner Jencks, who was president of the Amalgamated Bayard District Union, Local 890, International Union of Mine, Mill & Smelter Workers, filed an "Affidavit of Non-Communist Union Officer" with the National Labor Relations Board, pursuant to 9 (h) of the National Labor Relations Act. He was convicted under a two-count indictment charging that he violated 18 U. S. C. 1001 by falsely swearing in that affidavit that he was not on April 28, 1950, a member of the Communist Party or affiliated with such Party. The Court of Appeals of the Fifth Circuit affirmed the conviction and also an order of the District Court denying the petitioner's motion for a new trial. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.