Former President Donald Trump’s request for appointment of a third-party Special Master to review documents seized from Mar-a-Lago shines light on the role that government filter teams play in criminal investigations.  While the search of Mar-a-Lago was extraordinary in many respects, the creation of a “filter team” with protocols approved by a magistrate judge was routine. Taking away the bombastic rhetoric in his filing, Mr. Trump’s stated concern about the prosecution team having access to privileged materials is also typical.

When the government executes a search warrant and seizes documents that may include materials protected by the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine, the government typically forms a “taint team” or ‘filter team” to prevent the prosecution team from gaining access to privileged material.  The team, which includes attorneys and others, does not play a role in the investigation. The filter team reviews the documents, determines what documents should be screened out as potentially privileged, and may litigate whether those potentially privileged documents are entitled to protection or should instead be turned over to the prosecution team.

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