CA7: GJ can subpoena target’s surveillance video of how SW was executed

The corporation was the target of a search warrant for violating the Clean Water Act. The warrant took a whole day to execute. After reviewing its own video of the premises, they made claims of misconduct against the executing officers for pointing guns at its workers. The government wanted the video to check into it, and the company refused. So, it got a grand jury subpoena for the video. The court will not quash the warrant because the government can always inquire into how a search warrant was executed because that could taint evidence seized. United States v. Doe Corp., 2023 U.S. App. LEXIS 2731 (7th Cir. Feb. 3, 2023):

We note that even absent accusations of misconduct or inadmissibility, it is difficult to see how video footage of the execution of a search warrant has no possible relevance to the grand jury’s investigation. Evidence may be collected in a way that calls its reliability into question. That is why, for example, the government maintains careful chain-of-custody records. See 2 McCormick on Evidence § 213 (8th ed. 2022). Conversely, search footage may bolster the reliability of the collected evidence or point the grand jury toward further lines of inquiry by, for instance, showing where incriminating evidence was stored and who had access to the area.

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