Opinion ID: 1721404
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 13

Heading: Pertinency

Text: The next assault on the various questions which appellants were ordered to answer and which are summarized above is based on their contention that the questions lacked pertinency to the subject of the inquiry. To support this contention we are referred to the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Watkins v. United States, 354 U.S. 178, 77 S.Ct. 1173, 1 L.Ed.2d 1273. It is true that the Watkins decision announced the rule that the questions propounded in a legislative investigation should be pertinent to the subject of the inquiry. It affirms the position, which we have previously announced, that the subject of the inquiry should be made sufficiently clear and definite to inform a witness of the nature of the matter under inquiry. This is so in order to enable the witness to determine the pertinency of any particular question as well as to evaluate his privilege of declining to answer if such is available. The subject of the inquiry should not be afflicted with the so-called vice of vagueness thereby depriving the witness of his constitutional rights while under interrogation. In the Watkins case the Supreme Court suggested several methods by which this vice of vagueness can be avoided. One is by the authorizing statute or resolution which establishes the Committee and so clearly defines the subject under inquiry that a witness can understand the pertinency of questions propounded to him. A second method is by an opening statement by the Chairman of the Committee outlining in detail the subject of the inquiry. This assumes, of course, that the subject of inquiry announced by the Chairman is within the orbit of authorized investigation provided by the enabling statute or resolution. Furthermore, in Watkins the majority pointed out that while purportedly that investigation was dealing with subversive activities in the field of labor, actually many of the witnesses had nothing to do with the labor movement. Here the contrary appears as to members of NAACP. We find no difficulty in holding that the questions which the trial judge directed the witnesses to answer were in most instances clearly pertinent to the legitimate subject of the inquiry. We will later point out the limited exceptions to the order. Chapter 57-125, supra, the enabling statute, in itself, with reasonable clarity outlined the nature of the investigation. This was supplemented by a positive, clear-cut delineation of the purpose of the inquiry made by the Chairman of the Committee at the outset. Rather than being afflicted with the vice of vagueness in this instance, we think that both the enabling statute and the opening statement of the Chairman clearly defined the purpose and scope of the inquiry. Subject to an exception we shall mention we have the view that the questions here involved were pertinent to the authorized inquiry.