A grand jury subpoena carries a courtroom’s name on it, which gives it more apparent weight than it has in the Stored Communications Act hierarchy. It is still a subpoena.
What a grand jury subpoena is
A grand jury is a body convened to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges. To gather evidence it can compel testimony and documents, and prosecutors issue subpoenas on its behalf. No judge reviews the subpoena before it goes out.
For a company receiving one, three features matter:
- It is compulsory. Non-compliance risks contempt.
- It reaches what a subpoena reaches. Basic subscriber information and non-content records, not content.
- Secrecy rules bind the government, not you. This is the point most often got wrong.
The notification misunderstanding
Prosecutors sometimes assert, and recipients often assume, that grand jury secrecy forbids telling the user. Rule 6(e) imposes obligations on those conducting the proceeding. A witness or document custodian is not on that list.
| Grand jury subpoena alone | With a 2705(b) order | |
|---|---|---|
| Compels production | Yes | Yes |
| Restricts notifying the user | No | Yes |
| Basis for the restriction | None | Court order on statutory findings |
| Duration of restriction | N/A | Set by the order, and renewable |
Providers that have policies of notifying users absent a legal bar should apply that policy here, and should ask for a non-disclosure order if the government wants notice withheld. Treating an assertion of secrecy as though it were an order gives up something on the user’s behalf that the law did not require.
What it means for a company receiving one
- Confirm validity and service. Check the issuing district, the case reference, and that service was proper.
- Read the scope against the instrument. A grand jury subpoena requesting content is asking for something a subpoena cannot compel.
- Diarise the return date. These carry compliance deadlines and escalate when missed.
- Decide the notification question deliberately, on the basis of whether a legal restriction actually exists.