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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 487 Filed 11/22/21 Page2of8
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The Nixon test is enforced strictly. As the Supreme Court has explained, “[i]t was not
intended by Rule 16 to give a limited right of discovery, and then by Rule 17 to give a right of
discovery in the broadest terms.” Bowman Dairy Co. v. United States, 341 U.S. 214, 220 (1951);
see also United States v. Purin, 486 F.2d 1363, 1368 (2d Cir. 1973) (“A subpoena duces tecum in
a criminal case is not intended as a means of discovery.”). It is not sufficient for a party to show
only that the subpoenaed documents “are potentially relevant or admissible.” United States v.
Wey, 252 F. Supp. 3d 237, 254 (S.D.N.Y. 2017) (internal quotation marks omitted); see United
States v. Skelos, No. 15 Cr. 317, 2018 WL 2254538, at *2 (“The materials sought under Rule 17
must themselves be admissible at trial; it is not enough that they contain information which could
be admissible.” (alterations and internal quotation marks omitted)); United States v. RW Prof’l
Leasing Servs. Corp., 228 F.R.D. 158, 162 (E.D.N.Y 2005) (explaining that it is “insufficient” for
a party to show only that the subpoenaed documents “are potentially relevant or may be
admissible”). Similarly, the party requesting the subpoena must also show that the “the application
is made in good faith and is not intended as a general fishing expedition.” United States v. Ulbricht,
858 F.3d 71, 109 (2d Cir. 2017) (quoting Nixon, 418 U.S. at 699-700) (internal quotation marks
omitted), abrogated on other grounds as recognized by United States v. Chambers, 751 F. App’x
44, 46 & n.1 (2d Cir. 2018) (summary order).”
Il. Discussion
The defendant has subpoenaed four categories of information: (1) copies of any payments
to the Minor Victims and their counsel, and (2) “[a]ny and [alll [rJeleases executed by the [Minor
? Although generally “production of impeaching evidence pursuant to Rule 17(c) is not required
until after the witness testifies,” Skelos, 2018 WL 2254538, at *2, in this case the Government
expects each of the Minor Victims named in the subpoena to testify at trial. Accordingly, if the
Court permits enforcement of the subpoena, the Government does not object to production of the
records to the Court before the Minor Victims actually testify for the sake of efficiency.
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00007394.jpg |
| File Size | 784.1 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 93.6% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,343 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:22:44.449751 |