punished for contempt of the Senate and also indicted for a
misdemeanor for such refusal.[47]

Self-Incrimination

SOURCE OF THE CLAUSE

"Nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against
himself." The source of this clause was the maxim that "no man is bound
to accuse himself (_nemo tenetur prodere_--or _accusare seipsum_),"
which was brought forward in England late in the sixteenth century in
protest against the inquisitorial methods of the ecclesiastical courts.
At that time the common law itself permitted accused defendants to be
questioned. What the advocates of the maxim meant was merely that a
person ought not to be put on trial and compelled to answer questions to
his detriment unless he had first been properly accused, i.e., by the
grand jury. But the idea once set going gained headway rapidly,
especially after 1660, when it came to have attached to it most of its
present-day corollaries.[48]

Under the clause a _witness_ in any proceeding whatsoever in which
testimony is legally required may refuse to answer any question, his
answer to which might be used against him in a future criminal
proceeding, or which might uncover further evidence against him.[49] The
witness must explicitly claim his constitutional immunity or he will be
considered to have waived it;[50] but he is not the final judge of the
validity of his claim.[51] The privilege exists solely for the
protection of the witness himself, and may not be claimed for the
benefit of third parties.[52] The clause does not impair the obligation
of a witness to testify if a prosecution against him is barred by lapse
of time, by statutory enactment, or by a pardon;[53] but the effect of
a mere tender of pardon by the President remains uncertain.[54] A
witness may not refuse to answer questions on the ground that he would
thereby expose himself to prosecution by a state.[55] Conversely, the
admission against a defendant in a federal court of testimony given by
him in a state court under a statute of immunity is valid.[56] If an
accused takes the stand in his own behalf, he must submit to
cross-examination;[57] while if he does not, it is by no means certain
that the trial judge in a federal court may not, without violation of
the clause, draw the jury's attention to the fact.[58] Neither does the
Amendment preclude the admission in evidence against an accused of a
confession made while in the custody of officers, if the confession was