In In re: Grand Jury Subpoena, FGJ-21-01-MIA, No. 21-13651 (Jan. 31, 2023) (Wilson, Jordan, Brasher), the Court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
The appellant was the custodian of business entities that were served with subpoenas to appear before a grand jury, produce documents, and certify that the documents satisfied the business records exception to hearsay. The appellant moved to quash the subpoenas and asserted a Fifth Amendment act-of-production privilege. The district court denied the motion and then held him in civil contempt after he refused to comply. However, the district court stayed issuance of sanctions pending appeal. Applying Eleventh Circuit precedent, and disagreeing with Second Circuit precedent, the court of appeals held that a contempt order must be accompanied by sanctions in order to be an appealable final judgment. Accordingly, the Court dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.
