Re: subpoenas of personal papers

[Phil Karn <karn@qualcomm.com>]

>  I'm going to look at this in the light of past cases with reporters:  
>When a judge demanded the names of informants/sources, and reporters 
>declined, they got slapped with Contempt of Court charges.

The Fifth Amendment applies only when *self*-incrimination is
involved.  With only a few exceptions, it's always been the case that
you can be compelled to testify against someone else, whether you want
to or not. The exceptions are limited to a few special relationships
such as those with your lawyer, spouse or priest.

There was a flurry of laws during the 1970s that extended somewhat
similar privileges to reporters and their sources, but they don't seem
to have held up very well since the Big Lurch to the Right.

Phil