U.S. Discovery in Aid of Foreign Criminal Investigations

On December 12, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that 28 U.S.C. § 1782 allows a U.S. district court to order a domestic party to produce documents for use in a foreign criminal investigation conducted by a foreign investigating magistrate. While discovery in aid of foreign civil proceedings is common under § 1782, the request for discovery in support of a foreign magistrate’s criminal investigation presented a question of first impression for the Second Circuit.