In re Grand Jury Subpoena

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2023 · Evidence

58 F.4th 1232 (2023)

Updated July 19, 2026

Evidencefinal judgment ruleappellate jurisdictioncivil contemptnon-contingent sanctiongrand jury subpoenamotion to quashSection 1291

Facts

The government served Appellant with three subpoenas directed at three business entities for which he was the document custodian. The subpoenas required the companies to appear and testify before the grand jury, produce documents, and certify that the records satisfied the business-records exception. Appellant moved to quash and asserted a Fifth Amendment act-of-production privilege, arguing the requested documents could incriminate him as the sole manager, registered agent, owner, and operator of the companies. The district court denied the motion, found Appellant in civil contempt when he refused to comply, and stayed issuance of sanctions pending appeal.

Issue

Whether a district court's finding of civil contempt, when the court has not yet imposed sanctions and has stayed issuance of sanctions pending appeal, is a directly appealable final decision under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

Rule

Under Eleventh Circuit precedent, a contempt citation is not immediately appealable unless there is both a finding of contempt and a non-contingent order of sanction. A sanctionless contempt order is not a final decision under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

A federal district court in Atlanta denies Nina Patel's motion to quash a subpoena for records held by a fictional accounting firm where she is custodian. When Nina refuses to comply, the court finds her in civil contempt but states that it will decide later whether to impose any fine, and Nina immediately appeals.

Under the governing rule, should the court of appeals hear Nina's appeal now?

Explanation. The appeal should be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. The controlling rule is that a civil contempt order is directly appealable only when the district court has both found contempt and imposed a non-contingent sanction. A sanctionless contempt finding leaves more for the district court to do, so it is not a final decision under § 1291. (Derived from In re Grand Jury Subpoena (2023).)