Hutcheson v. United States (1961)
- Docket
- 46
- Decided
- 1961-01-01
- Category
- General
Summary
Question: Do questions at a Senate Committee Hearing that relate to the witnesses' ongoing state criminal proceedings violate Due Process? Conclusion: No. In a 4-2 decision Justice John M. Harlan wrote for the majority and concluded that the Committee's questions were not outside the scope of the Senate investigation, nor were the Committee's questions asked simply to expose the union president's criminal acts. The fact that state prosecutors could have used the answers to the questions in a pending state criminal trial did not violate Due Process. The Court did not allow the union president to attempt to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination because he had explicitly waived it in the Committee hearing. Justice Earl Warren wrote a dissent stating that the opinion forced the union president to choose between invoking the privilege against self-incrimination, answering the questions truthfully and aiding state prosecutors, committing perjury, or refusing to answer and face contempt.