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Couch v. United States, 409 U.S. 322 (1973)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Couch v. United States, 409 U.S. 322 (1973)
Couch v. United States No. 71-889 Argued November 14, 1972 Decided January 9, 1973 409 U.S. 322
CERTIORARI TO THE: UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Petitioner challenges an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) summons directing an accountant, an independent contractor with numerous clients, to produce business records that she had been giving to him for preparation of her tax returns from 1955 to 1968, when the summons was issued. The District Court and the Court of Appeals concluded that the privilege against self-incrimination asserted by petitioner was not available.
Held: On the facts of this case, where petitioner had effectively surrendered possession of the records to the accountant, there was no personal compulsion against petitioner to produce the records. The Fifth Amendment therefore constitutes no bar to their production by the accountant, even though the IRS tax investigation may entail possible criminal, as well as civil, consequences. Nor does petitioner, who was aware that much of the information in the records had to be disclosed in her tax returns, have any legitimate expectation of privacy that would bar production under either the Fourth or Fifth Amendment. Pp. 327-336.
449 F 2d 141, affirmed.
POWELL, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BURGER, C.J., and BRENNAN, STEWART, WHITE, BLACKMUN, and REHNQUIST, JJ., joined. BRENNAN, J., filed a concurring opinion, post, p. 337. DOUGLAS, J., post, p. 338, and MARSHALL, J., post, p. 344, filed dissenting opinions.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Couch v. United States, 409 U.S. 322 (1973) in 409 U.S. 322 409 U.S. 323. Original Sources, accessed November 24, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=KQX7274XXLQSIU1.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Couch v. United States, 409 U.S. 322 (1973), in 409 U.S. 322, page 409 U.S. 323. Original Sources. 24 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=KQX7274XXLQSIU1.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Couch v. United States, 409 U.S. 322 (1973). cited in 1973, 409 U.S. 322, pp.409 U.S. 323. Original Sources, retrieved 24 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=KQX7274XXLQSIU1.
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