McLane Co. v. EEOC, Docket 15-1248

Subpoena: Fourth Amendment:

(…) We have described a subpoena as a “‘constructive search,” Oklahoma Press, 327 U. S., at 202, and implied that the Fourth Amendment is the source of the requirement that a subpoena not be “too indefinite,” Morton Salt, 338 U. S., at 652. But not every decision that touches on the Fourth Amendment is subject to searching review. Subpoenas in a wide variety of other contexts also implicate the privacy interests protected by the Fourth Amendment, but courts routinely review the enforcement of such subpoenas for abuse of discretion. See, e.g., United States v. Nixon, 418 U. S. 683, 702 (1974) (pretrial subpoenas duces tecum); In re Grand Jury Sub­poena, 696 F. 3d 428, 432 (CA5 2012) (grand jury subpoe­nas); In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 616 F. 3d 1186, 1201 (CA10 2010) (same). And this Court has emphasized that courts should pay “great deference” to a magistrate judge’s determination of probable cause, Gates, 462 U. S., at 236—a decision more akin to a district court’s preenforcement review of a subpoena than the warrantless searches and seizures we considered in Ornelas v. United States, 517 U. S. 690 (1996).

(…) A district court’s decision to enforce an EEOC subpoena should be reviewed for abuse of discre­tion, not de novo.

(…) As part of its analysis, the Court of Appeals may also consider, as and to the extent it deems appropriate, any arguments made by McLane regarding the burdens imposed by the subpoena.

(U.S.S.C., April 3, 2017, McLane Co. v. EEOC, Docket 15-1248, J. Sotomayor).

Subpoena, comprise comme une injonction, a été mise en parallèle avec la perquisition pénale. De la sorte, le Quatrième Amendement demande que cette injonction ne soit pas trop indéfinie. L'exécution de ces injonctions est revue judiciairement sous l'angle de l'abus de discrétion, et non de novo. En particulier, la Cour a insisté dans sa jurisprudence qu'une grande déférence soit accordée à la détermination du Juge administratif portant sur l'existence ou non d'une "probable cause".