The appellant challenged lower court orders requiring production of a confidential Cabinet submission in the context of a Bodner review of the government's response to a judicial compensation commission's recommendations.
The Court held that the rules of evidence and production in Bodner reviews must reflect the unique nature of that review and respect both judicial independence and Cabinet confidentiality.
A party seeking production of a confidential Cabinet document must first establish some basis to believe the document may contain evidence tending to show the government failed to meet one of the Bodner requirements; failing that threshold, the document need not be produced.
The respondent association did not meet that threshold, as no evidence or circumstances were identified suggesting the Cabinet submission would reveal a constitutional failure.
Accordingly, the appeal was allowed and the production order quashed.
