United States v. Reynolds
United States Supreme Court
345 U.S. 1 (1953)
Widows (plaintiffs) of civilians killed when an Air Force plane testing secret electronic equipment crashed sued the government (defendant) for wrongful death and sought the Air Force's official accident report. The government objected on grounds of governmental privilege, but after the district court ordered production so it could review the report itself, the government refused, and the Secretary of the Air Force formally invoked the privilege. The district court then ruled the facts in the report would be viewed in the widows' favor on negligence and found for them; the court of appeals affirmed, and the government petitioned for certiorari.
Whether the government asserted a valid claim of privilege in refusing to produce an official accident investigation report after an aircraft on a secret-equipment testing mission crashed.