United States Fourth Circuit

District court's decision holding twelve corporations, interrelated for-profit and not-for-profit corporations suspected of participating in the financing of terrorist activity, in contempt for refusing to turn over documents demanded by grand jury subpoena duces tecum is affirmed where: 1) a grand jury enforcement action is not the appropriate place to litigate the validity of one corporations claims of illegal wiretapping; and 2) the other eleven corporations' claim that the district court abused its discretion by finding them in contempt because the order was ambiguous, and that they did not know they were violating a valid decree when they failed to comply, does not square with the facts of the record.

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/24/2010
• Published 02/24/2010

Judges

• Before TRAXLER, Chief Judge, WILKINSON, Circuit Judge, and MARGARET B. SEYMOUR, United States District Judge for the District of South Carolina, sitting by designation.

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:Steven Karl Barentzen, The Law Office of Steven Barentzen, Washington, D.C.; Nancy Anne Luque, Luque Geragos Marino, LLP, Washington, DC, for Appellants. Gordon D. Kromberg, Office of the United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF:Mitka T. Baker, DLA Piper U.S. LLP, Washington, D.C., for Appellants. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.