HB179 Alabama 2014 Session

Summary

Primary Sponsor

Mike Ball

Republican

Session

Regular Session 2014

Title

Criminal witness immunity, conferral of if a person refuses to testify under privilege of self-incrimination, penalties for failure to testify, immunity conferred for certain testimony in grand jury proceedings, Secs. 12-21-228, 12-21-229 added

Description

This bill would authorize the Attorney General or a district attorney to request a court to issue an order requiring a material witness to testify when he or she refuses to give testimony on the basis of the privilege against self-incrimination. The court would be required to order the witness to testify and grant the witness immunity from prosecution of the offenses that are the subject of the trial, any related or lesser included offenses, as well as any other criminal offense that may be directly or indirectly derived from the testimony or information provided, with certain exceptions, such as perjury.

This bill would provide that failure to comply with an order to testify is punishable as contempt.

This bill would also allow a district attorney or the Attorney General to grant certain immunity to a person who has been called to testify before a grand jury and would provide that a person who fails to testify after a grant of immunity would be held in contempt.

Amendment 621 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, now appearing as Section 111.05 of the Official Recompilation of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, prohibits a general law whose purpose or effect would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds from becoming effective with regard to a local governmental entity without enactment by a 2/3 vote unless: it comes within one of a number of specified exceptions; it is approved by the affected entity; or the Legislature appropriates funds, or provides a local source of revenue, to the entity for the purpose.

The purpose or effect of this bill would be to require a new or increased expenditure of local funds within the meaning of the amendment. However, the bill does not require approval of a local governmental entity or enactment by a 2/3 vote to become effective because it comes within one of the specified exceptions contained in the amendment.

Show more Show less

Subjects

Crimes and Offenses