Sherman Minton

“ It would be strange indeed if the defendant discovered some evidence by the use of Rule 16 which the Government was not going to introduce and yet could not require its production by Rule 17 (c) . There may be documents and other materials in the possession of the Government not subject to Rule 16. No good reason appears to us why they may not be reached by subpoena under Rule 17 (c) as long as they are evidentiary. That is not to say that the materials thus subpoenaed must actually be used in evidence. It is only required that a good-faith effort be made to obtain evidence. ”

“ The subpoena calls for materials which the Government is bound to produce and for materials it is not bound to produce. The District Court said: 'Give us all.' The Government replied: 'We will give you nothing.' Both were wrong. The Government should produce the evidentiary materials called for by the subpoena. It need not produce anything under clause (c) .
One should not be held in contempt under a subpoena that is part good and part bad. ”

“ Before the case was set for trial, each petitioner filed a motion under Rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure [2] for an order requiring the United States to produce for inspection all books, papers, documents, or objects obtained from petitioners and obtained by seizure or process from others. ”