United States v. Arnold I. Mandel Rona K. Mandel

RYMER, Circuit Judge:

This appeal raises the issue of whether a criminal defendant charged with exporting items on the Commodity Control List in violation of the Export Administration Act of 1979 is entitled to discovery of Department of Commerce records relied on by the Secretary in promulgating commodity control categories within which the exported items are listed. The district court held in a published opinion, United States v. Mandel, 696 F.Supp. 505 (E.D.Cal.1988), that discovery was appropriate because defendants in a criminal case are entitled to challenge the Secretary’s decision to…