§ 42.06 Miscellaneous Governmental Privileges

• Jurisdiction: United States

§ 42.06 Miscellaneous Governmental Privileges

The Government is the holder of a number of other privileges. Proposed Federal Rule 509 also recognized an official information privilege, which covered several different categories of governmental information, including investigatory files.⁴⁷ In addition, in some cases disclosure is controlled by the Freedom of Information Act, which recognizes a number of exceptions.⁴⁸ The secrecy of grand jury proceedings is also frequently litigated.⁴⁹

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Notes:

^[47] See Proposed Fed. R. Evid. 509(a)(2) ("'Official information' is information within the custody or control of a department or agency of the government the disclosure of which is shown to be contrary to the public interest and which consists of: (A) intragovernmental opinions or recommendations submitted for consideration in the performance of decisional or policymaking functions, or (B) subject to the provisions of 18 U.S.C. § 3500, investigatory files complied for law enforcement purposes and not otherwise available, or (C) information within the custody or control of a governmental department or agency whether initiated within the department or agency or acquired by it in its exercise of its official responsibilities and not otherwise available to the public pursuant to 5 U.S. C. § 552.").

^[48] 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7). See also Department of Interior and Bureau of Indian Affairs v. Klamath Water Users Protective Ass'n, 532 U.S. 1...