## Facts

- Aaron Burr, a former Vice President, was indicted in federal court for treason (levying war against the United States) and separately charged with a misdemeanor related to an alleged expedition against Spanish territory.
- The prosecution relied in part on information associated with General James Wilkinson and presidential communications to Congress.
- Burr moved for a subpoena duces tecum directed to President Thomas Jefferson seeking production of (1) Wilkinson’s October 21 letter referenced by the President and (2) related military and naval orders and other documents Burr claimed could support his defense.
- The United States largely did not dispute that a President could be called as a witness, but questioned whether a subpoena duces tecum could properly compel presidential papers and raised concerns about subjecting the President to judicial process.
- Chief Justice John Marshall, sitting as Circuit Justice in the Circuit Court for the District of Virginia, considered whether the court could issue such process and whether Burr had made a sufficient showing to justify it.

## Issues

1. Whether a federal court may issue judicial process, including a subpoena, to a sitting President.
2. Whether a subpoena duces tecum may compel a sitting President to produce specified documents for use in a criminal case.
3. Whether claims of burden, confidentiality, or public interest must be resolved before issuance or after issuance on the subpoena’s return.
4. Whether the defense showed sufficient specificity and potential materiality to warrant issuance of the subpoena duces tecum.

## Decision

- The court held that the President is not categorically exempt from the ordinary process of the courts and may be subpoenaed.
- The court held that a subpoena duces tecum may issue to the President to require production of specific papers relevant to a criminal proceeding.
- The court ruled that objections grounded in official duties, confidentiality, or the public interest are addressed after issuance, on the subpoena’s return, rather than as a threshold bar to issuing process.
- The court found Burr’s request sufficiently specific and supported by a showing that the materials may be material to the defense, and ordered that the subpoena duces tecum issue.

## Legal Principles

- The President, as a constitutional officer rather than a sovereign, is subject to judicial process in appropriate circumstances.
- A federal court may issue a subpoena duces tecum to a sitting President for documents sought for use at a criminal trial when the request identifies specific materials and shows potential materiality.
- Courts control against harassment through supervision of subpoenas after issuance; categorical immunity is not the default mechanism for preventing vexatious demands.
- Claims that documents should not be disclosed on public-interest or confidentiality grounds are raised in response to the subpoena and evaluated in the course of compliance, not used to defeat the court’s power to issue process.
- For a subpoena duces tecum sought by a criminal defendant, the required showing is that the documents are described with reasonable particularity and may bear on the defense; the defendant need not prove the contents will be decisive before production.

## Conclusion

The court recognized judicial authority to compel evidence from the President through a subpoena duces tecum in a criminal case, while reserving for later proceedings any claimed limits based on official duties or the public interest and requiring only a reasonable showing of specificity and potential materiality by the defense.


United States v. Burr, 25 F. Cas. 30 (C.C.D. Va. 1807) (No. 14,692d)