John Doe v. United States

When the Government seizes documents or hard drives that may contain attorney-client privileged and work-product protected material, it often utilizes a “Filter Team” to review the seized material to determine if the material is privileged before the material is turned over to a “Prosecution Team.” Privilege holders can challenge the protocol to be used by the Filter Team. Generally, district court orders granting or refusing to enjoin certain privilege protocols are immediately appealable by both the Government and the privilege holder because such orders are either final orders or they are interlocutory orders granting or denying injunctions. The question is this: Does the fact that the privilege holder is under criminal investigation deprive appellate courts of jurisdiction to review orders refusing to enjoin attorney-client privilege review protocols?