Opinion ID: 744057
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Supreme Court, English Common Law, and the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination

Text: 12 In United States v. Murdock, 284 U.S. 141, 52 S.Ct. 63, 76 L.Ed. 210 (1931), the Supreme Court held that the federal government could compel a witness to give testimony that might incriminate him under state law. In support of this holding the Court cited English common law, stating [t]he English rule of evidence against compulsory self-incrimination, on which historically, that contained in the Fifth Amendment rests, does not protect witnesses against disclosing offenses in violation of the laws of another country. Id. at 149, 52 S.Ct. at 64. Thirty-three years later (on the very same day that the Court held in Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 3, 84 S.Ct. 1489, 1490, 12 L.Ed.2d 653 (1964), that the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination applies to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment), the Court in Murphy rejected the basis, the reasoning, and the holding of Murdock. 13 In Murphy, the Court held that the privilege against self-incrimination protects a witness in one domestic jurisdiction against being compelled to give testimony that could be used to convict him in another domestic jurisdiction. Part of the Court's justification for this rejection of the Murdock rule was that the Murdock Court had incorrectly stated the relevant English common law rule. The Murdock Court had asserted that the English common law rule could be found in King of the Two Sicilies v. Willcox, 1 Sim. (N.S.) 301, 61 Eng. Rep. 116 (Ch. 1851). The Murphy Court concluded instead that United States of America v. McRae, L.R., 3 Ch.App. 79 (Ch.App.1867), which held that where a witness is under threat of foreign prosecution the privilege applies as much as where the witness is exposed to that threat under English law, reflected the settled 'English rule' regarding self-incrimination under foreign law. Murphy, 378 U.S. at 63, 84 S.Ct. at 1600. Thus, the Murphy Court rejected the conclusion that the only danger to be considered is one arising within the same jurisdiction and under the same sovereignty. and ultimately accept[ed] as correct the construction given the privilege by the English courts namely, that the privilege may be invoked by witnesses attempting to avoid incriminating themselves abroad. Murphy, 378 U.S. at 68, 77-78, 84 S.Ct. at 1603, 1608-1609 (internal quotation marks omitted). 6 14 The Supreme Court's statement and acceptance of the English common law rule suggests that the Court has endorsed the proposition we accept today, that a witness may invoke the Fifth Amendment out of fear of a foreign prosecution. See Trucis, 89 F.R.D. at 673; Mishima, 507 F.Supp. at 134-35; Cardassi, 351 F.Supp. at 1085. But see Parker, 411 F.2d at 1070 (stating that the Supreme Court relied on English common law regarding foreign prosecutions only as an argumentative analogy to the relationship between the federal government and the states). Although the discussion of English common law in Murphy does not decide the case before us, as demonstrated by the fact that the Court considered the question an open one in Zicarelli, it does provide significant support for our conclusion. See Araneta v. United States, 478 U.S. 1301, 1303-04, 107 S.Ct. 1, 2, 92 L.Ed.2d 751 (1986) (Chief Justice Burger acting as Circuit Justice in granting stay of contempt order) (Murphy v. Waterfront Comm'n of New York Harbor contains dictum which, carried to its logical conclusion, would support a ruling that the privilege against self-incrimination protects a witness from being compelled to give testimony that may later be used against him in a foreign prosecution.) (citation omitted). 7 15