Ex parte Renshaw

The petitioner complains that he is illegally restrained of his liberty by the jailer of the city of St. Louis. The return of the jailer shows that he has the body of the petitioner under authority of a commitment issued by the St. Louis Criminal Court. This commitment shows that the prisoner appeared before the grand jury as a witness and refused to answer interrogatories; that this fact was communicated by the grand jury, in writing, to the Criminal Court; that the court determined that the witness was bound to answer; that the prisoner persisted in his refusal and was thereupon brought…