Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 25, 1994 TAG: 9401250078
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
The justices, without comment, let stand a federal appeals court ruling that forces a New York man suspected of violating securities law to hand over to federal investigators his personal appointment calendar for 1988.
Had the high court granted that appeal, its decision might have affected two investigations of Sen. Bob Packwood, R-Ore. He has been invoking his constitutional right against self-incrimination in battling sexual misconduct allegations and possible criminal charges.
Specifically, Packwood has contended that investigators for the Senate Ethics Committee and Justice Department should not be allowed to subpoena his diaries.
But U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ruled Monday that Packwood's diaries must be turned over to the Senate committee on grounds that Packwood lost his claim to Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination when the diaries were "voluntarily committed to paper" before the panel sought them.
The Supreme Court case acted on Monday stemmed from the Securities and Exchange Commission's investigation in 1989 of possible insider trading by a man identified only as John Doe. The investigation focused, in part, on Doe's personal brokerage accounts.
The appellate court, by a 2-1 vote, said the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination applies only to compelled "testimony" and not to voluntarily prepared private papers.
by CNB