Federal Immunity Act 68 Stat. 745 (1954)
FEDERAL IMMUNITY ACT 68 Stat. 745 (1954)
The growing tendency in the early 1950s of witnesses before congressional committees to refuse to testify by relying on the Fifth Amendment's right against self-incrimination led Congress in 1954 to amend previous statutes and provide revised immunity arrangements. The purpose of the measure was to bypass the Fifth Amendment by giving Congress the power to grant a reluctant witness immunity from prosecution and compel the individual to testify. Either house of Congress by majority vote or a congressional committee by a two-thirds vote could grant immunity from prosecution to a witness in a national security investigation, provided an order was first obtained from a United States District Court judge. The statute required the attorney general to be given advance notification and an opportunity to offer objections. The law also permitted united states district courts to grant immunity to witnesses before courts or grand juries. Witnesses thus immunized faced the choice of testifying or going to jail. The Fifth Amendment could not be raised as a barrier to compulsory testimony.
In ullman v. united states (1956) the Supreme Court sustained its constitutionality.
Paul L. Murphy
(1986)
(see also: Immunity Grant.)