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I believe that, if you have immunity, then you can be forced to testify - because you already cannot incriminate yourself. It's a weird legal loophole.
by philip1209 8y ago
I believe that, if you have immunity, then you can be forced to testify - because you already cannot incriminate yourself. It's a weird legal loophole.
- btilly 8y agoI didn't believe you so I hit google. Several links later, including https://law.justia.com/constitution/us/amendment-05/08-power-to-compel-testimony-and-disclosure.html https://law.justia.com/constitution/us/amendment-05/08-power..., I am now convinced that you're right. Thanks! I learned something today! I also learned that immunity, when properly granted, protects you from both federal and state law. That has to be abusable...
- torstenvl 8y agoThat's correct. The Framers said "No person ... shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." They could just as easily have said "No person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness." But they did not.
- Bartweiss 8y agoThis is true; it's become pretty standard practice to offer immunity, then compel testimony with Fifth Amendment protections waived. Presumably that's what motivated Manning's focus on the private hearing and invocation of the Sixth amendment. Manning isn't the one being charged at the hearing, but compelling private testimony under threat of incarceration looks rather like a de facto private trial.