United States Supreme Court Cases & Opinions

U.S. Supreme Court

McCarthy v. Arndstein, 262 U.S. 355 (1923)

McCarthy v. Arndstein

No. 404

Argued April 11, 1923

Decided May 21, 1923

262 U.S. 355

Syllabus

1. A disclosure made by a witness not amounting to an actual admission of guilt or of incriminating facts does not deprive him of his privilege of stopping short in his testimony whenever it may fairly tend to incriminate him. P. 262 U. S. 358.

2. This rule applies to the involuntary examination of a bankrupt. Id.

3. Where the only issue presented by the marshal's return, or passed upon by the district court in a habeas corpus proceeding was whether the relator, who had been imprisoned for refusal to answer questions propounded in his examination as a bankrupt upon the ground that they might incriminate him, had waived his privilege in that regard, and contentions as to whether some of the questions were such that the answers could not have incriminated him and as to whether his claim of privilege was not in good faith were first made on appeal to this Court from the order of the district court discharging him in the habeas corpus, held that this Court was not called upon to scrutinize the voluminous record of his examination and decide for the first time whether such contentions were justified, especially as the district judge, in the contempt proceeding, had expressed his opinion that answers to the questions might furnish incriminating information. P. 262 U. S. 360.

Affirmed.

Appeal from an order of the district court discharging the appellee in habeas corpus.

Page 262 U. S. 356