United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc.

United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc., 463 U.S. 418 (1983), was a United States Supreme Court case concerning whether United States Department of Justice Civil Division attorneys were required to show particularized need in order to obtain disclosure.

United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc.
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued March 2, 1983 Decided June 30, 1983
Full case name	United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc.
Docket no.	81-1032
Citations	463 U.S. 418 (more) 103 S. Ct. 3133; 77 L. Ed. 2d 743
Argument	Oral argument
Opinion announcement	Opinion announcement
Holding
Attorneys in the Civil Division of the Justice Department and their assistants and staff may not obtain automatic (A)(i) disclosure of grand jury materials for use in a civil suit, but must instead seek a (C)(i) court order for access to such materials.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun Lewis F. Powell Jr. · William Rehnquist John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Case opinions
Majority	Brennan, joined by White, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens
Dissent	Burger, joined by Powell, Rehnquist, O'Connor
Laws applied
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure (or relevant rules of a circuit court)

Opinion of the Court

In an opinion delivered by Justice Brennan, the Court decided in favor of Sells Engineering.

External links

• Text of United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc., 463 U.S. 418 (1983) is available from: Findlaw Justia Library of Congress Oyez (oral argument audio)