In Re Doe

We are called upon to decide whether a grand jury has the power to subpoena a physicians W-2 forms, prescription forms and patient files despite his claims that the Fifth Amendment and doctor-patient privilege shield these records from production. A grand jury sitting in the Southern District of New York is investigating what it believes to be a sham medical clinic that served as a front for the illegal sale of ten of thousands of "quaaludes" in New York City. The records subpoenaed are those of a psychiatrist allegedly associated with the clinic. The Court is unanimous in its view that the doctors W-2 and prescription forms are subject to the subpoenas duces tecum issued against him and that for his failure to produce them he was properly held in civil contempt. We are divided only on the issue of patient files in the doctors possession.