United States v. Vytautas Gecas

BIRCH, Circuit Judge:

This case requires us to determine whether a witness may invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination for fear of foreign prosecution. The district court held that the Fifth Amendment privilege was not a “personal ‘right’ conferred upon persons within the protection of American law,” United States v. Gecas, 830 F.Supp. 1403, 1421 (N.D.Fla.1993), and thus could not “protect a witness who fears incrimination or prosecution under the criminal laws of a foreign sovereign,” id. at 1423. The district court ordered the witness to testify, and he appealed.…