People v. Clifford

I dissent. This is another case of the court swallowing a camel and straining at a gnat. A bare glance at the record discloses that the one important question—and the only important one involved—was and is whether defendant had been denied his right under the Constitution, which says, “No person shall be compelled to testify against himself in a criminal case.” The two obvious facts present are that defendant testified, and that he did so under a subpoena, which is compulsion within the meaning of this particular provision of the Constitution. Stripped of juridical legerdemain, that is all…