Supreme Court of the United States
United States v. Hubbell
June 5, 2000530 U.S. 27
Summary
The Court held that the Fifth Amendment protects a witness from being compelled to disclose the existence of incriminating documents the Government is unable to describe with reasonable particularity. Additionally, statutory immunity under 18 U.S.C. § 6002 prevents the Government from using those documents to prepare criminal charges when the evidence was derived from the testimonial aspects of the act of production. Justice Thomas concurred, noting that the act-of-production doctrine may be inconsistent with the original meaning of the Fifth Amendment.