[Download] "Blau v. United States" by Supreme Court of the United States * eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Blau v. United States
- Author : Supreme Court of the United States
- Release Date : January 11, 1950
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 53 KB
Description
MR. JUSTICE BLACK delivered the opinion of the Court. In response to a subpoena, petitioner appeared as a witness before the United States District Court Grand Jury at Denver, Colorado. There she was asked several questions concerning the Communist Party of Colorado and her employment by it.1 Petitioner refused to answer these questions on the ground that the answers might tend to incriminate her. She was then taken before the district judge where the questions were again propounded and where she again claimed her constitutional privilege against self-incrimination and refused to testify. The district judge found petitioner guilty of contempt of court and sentenced her to imprisonment for one year. The Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed. 180 F.2d 103. We granted certiorari because the decision appeared to deny rights guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment.2 The holding below also was in conflict with recent decisions of the Fifth and Ninth Circuits. Estes v. Potter, 183 F.2d 865; Alexander v. United States, 181 F.2d 480.