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Regan v. New York, 349 U.S. 58 (1955)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Regan v. New York, 349 U.S. 58 (1955)
Regan v. New York No. 54 Argued November 18, 1954 Decided April 25, 1955 349 U.S. 58
CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NEW YORK
Syllabus
A New York statute confers immunity from prosecution for any criminal activity disclosed before a grand jury in testimony relating to bribery. The New York City Charter provides that any city employee who refuses to sign a waiver of his immunity against subsequent prosecution upon any matter of an official nature about which he is asked to testify shall lose his job and be disqualified from future employment with the city. A member of the New York City police department was called to testify before a grand jury and he signed a waiver of immunity against prosecution. Twenty-one months after his separation from the police department, he was again before the grand jury, and was asked whether he had accepted any bribes from bookmakers or gamblers while he was in the police department. He refused lo answer on the ground that his answer might tend to incriminate him. He was thereupon convicted of contempt and sentenced to imprisonment.
Held: he was not deprived of any rights under the Federal Constitution. Pp. 59-64.
(a) The immunity statute removed any justification that he may have had for not testifying. The validity or invalidity of the waiver is a matter of no consequence. P. 62.
(b) If the waiver is valid, his situation is simply that of one who voluntarily chooses to waive an immunity provided by statute. Pp. 62-63.
(c) If the waiver is invalid, the statutory immunity from prosecution persists and his testimony could not possibly be self-incriminatory. Pp. 63-64.
(d) His refusal to testify was not justified by the uncertainty as to whether or not he could be prosecuted for criminal activity which might be revealed in his testimony. P. 64.
306 N.Y. 747, 117 N.E.2d 921, affirmed.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Regan v. New York, 349 U.S. 58 (1955) in 349 U.S. 58 349 U.S. 59. Original Sources, accessed November 25, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=8Q4J5LTDM1TP7XV.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Regan v. New York, 349 U.S. 58 (1955), in 349 U.S. 58, page 349 U.S. 59. Original Sources. 25 Nov. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=8Q4J5LTDM1TP7XV.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Regan v. New York, 349 U.S. 58 (1955). cited in 1955, 349 U.S. 58, pp.349 U.S. 59. Original Sources, retrieved 25 November 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=8Q4J5LTDM1TP7XV.
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