In Re Grand Jury No. 76-3 (Mia) Subpoena Duces Tecum. The Second National Bank of North Miami v. United States

As part of a criminal tax investigation, the Government desired to obtain bank records concerning two natural persons and two corporations over a four-year period from the Second National Bank of North Miami. The vast majority if not all of the records were stored on microfilm tapes. The district court granted the Bank’s motion to quash a subpoena for the records. We reverse.

The apparent basis for the district court’s action was a belief that “if the government has subpoenaed these records the government is obligated to pay for [them].” According to the district court, it was “absurd” for the…