NCJ Number
116477
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 79 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1988) Pages: 701-734
Date Published
1988
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This article discusses a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that the sole proprietor and records keeper of a one-man corporation could not cite the fifth amendment to quash a subpoena requiring him to produce the corporation's documents on the ground that by doing so he would incriminate himself.
Abstract
The facts of the case, Braswell v. United States, are discussed in detail, as is the reasoning of the Supreme Court, which pointed out that the individual was indeed separate from the corporate entity he had created. Additionally, the majority pointed out that the contents of business documents are not privileged under the fifth amendment and that artificial entities such as corporations may not assert a fifth amendment privilege. The author argues that the Court should not have analyzed the Braswell case in light of the collective entity doctrine but should have applied the compelled testimony standard instead. The compelled testimony standard eliminates the need to distinguish between an individual and an entity such as a corporation when the differences between the two are not apparent. 256 footnotes.