Asked by Ke'Darius Thornton on May 18, 2024
Verified
Sal Conelli is the president and sole stockholder of Salco,Inc. ,a corporation engaged in the wholesale food supply business.Conelli has custody of Salco's business records.A grand jury investigating possible criminal violations of health codes applicable to food products has served a subpoena demanding that certain Salco business records be made available.Conelli plans to resist the subpoena by arguing that compelling the production of the records would violate both his and Salco's Fifth Amendment privileges against self-incrimination.Should Conelli succeed with this argument? Explain your reasoning.
Fifth Amendment
An amendment to the U.S. Constitution protecting individuals from self-incrimination, double jeopardy, and ensuring due process of law.
Self-Incrimination
The act of implicating oneself in a crime or sharing information that could lead to one's own criminal prosecution.
- Discriminate among different categories of criminal activities, including those classified as white-collar crimes, and gain an understanding of pertinent statutes like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
- Acquire knowledge on the differentiation between felonies, misdemeanors, and ordinance breaches.
Verified Answer
AS
Austin SmithMay 18, 2024
Final Answer :
Conelli should not succeed with this argument.Salco,Inc.is a corporation.It therefore does not have a Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.Conelli has no Fifth Amendment privilege to assert on these facts either.Because Salco has no privilege to prevent disclosure of the records,Conelli,as custodian of Salco records,cannot assert any personal privilege to prevent their disclosure even if the contents of the records would incriminate him personally.
Learning Objectives
- Discriminate among different categories of criminal activities, including those classified as white-collar crimes, and gain an understanding of pertinent statutes like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
- Acquire knowledge on the differentiation between felonies, misdemeanors, and ordinance breaches.