Nigel Is the Sole Proprietor of a Construction Contracting Business

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The Answer is Nigel must comply with the subpoena.In United States v.Doe,the Supreme Court held that the privilege against self-incrimination does not protect the contents of a sole proprietor's business records,which can be subpoenaed and used against him so long as they were voluntarily prepared.The Court also recognized in Doe that Fifth Amendment rights may be implicated if the act of producing such records would involve incriminating testimonial admissions.In this case,however,the act of producing the records would not appear to be sufficiently testimonial to be protected by the Fifth Amendment.The government had long known of the existence of the records.Therefore,Nigel's being forced to provide them to the government would not be a testimonial act,unlike a situation in which the act of production would reveal the existence of records previously unknown to the government and thus would seem to demonstrate the record possessor's access to the records and possible knowledge of their incriminating contents.

Nigel Is the Sole Proprietor of a Construction Contracting Business

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