Opinion ID: 1232435
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Use of Compelled Testimony in a Subsequent Federal Prosecution

Text: Tracy raises the further issue that immunized testimony given before a tribal court may not be similarly recognized in a federal court proceeding. Obviously, one jurisdiction may not grant immunity to a witness for purposes of a related proceeding in another jurisdiction. However, in Murphy v. Waterfront Commission, the Supreme Court held that a state witness may not be compelled to give testimony which may be incriminating under federal law unless the compelled testimony and its fruits cannot be used in any manner by federal officials in connection with a criminal prosecution against him. 378 U.S. 52, 79, 84 S.Ct. 1594, 1609, 12 L.Ed.2d 678 (1964). The Court made it clear that the reciprocal rule would apply where a federal witness faces danger of incrimination under state law. Id. at 77-78, 84 S.Ct. at 1608. While there is no case directly on point to determine whether the Murphy doctrine applies in a related federal court proceeding to bar the use of immunized testimony given in tribal court, we believe it does. First, although the facts in Murphy involved only the state/federal relationship, the Court phrased the issue under consideration more broadly, as the question of whether: [O]ne jurisdiction within our federal structure may compel a witness, whom it has immunized from prosecution under its laws, to give testimony which might then be used to convict him of a crime against another such jurisdiction. Id. at 53, 84 S.Ct. at 1596 (emphasis added). As we have already discussed, Indian tribes are separate jurisdictions within our federal system. Further, the federal trust relationship of the United States government with the tribes creates a distinct likelihood of dual prosecution by tribal and federal courts of crimes arising from the same events. For example, federal courts have jurisdiction over enumerated major crimes that occur on the reservation under 18 U.S.C. § 1153; however, tribal courts may prosecute lesser included offenses arising out of the same event. See Wheeler, 435 U.S. at 330, 98 S.Ct. at 1090. In view of the strong likelihood that testimony given in a tribal prosecution could later be used in a federal prosecution, it seems unthinkable that a federal court would find the Murphy doctrine inapplicable after Congress expressly imposed the privilege against self-incrimination on the tribes through the ICRA. The eighth circuit has held that Indian witnesses may be compelled to testify under a grant of immunity in a federal grand jury proceeding even though they might later face prosecution in their tribal court. In re Long Visitor, 523 F.2d 443 (8th Cir.1975). The court believed the Murphy doctrine would apply because the ICRA expressly protects Indians from self-incrimination. Id. at 447. We therefore reject Tracy's arguments that he should not be compelled to testify because the testimony might later be used against him in federal court.