Material Witnesses
Overview of Federal Law
Witnesses in a Federal criminal case may find themselves arrested, held for bail, and in some cases imprisoned until they are called upon to testify. The same is true in most if not all of the States. Although subject to intermittent criticism, this practice has existed at least from the beginning of the Republic. The Supreme Court has never squarely considered the constitutionality of the Federal statute [allowing material-witness detention] or any of its predecessors, but it has observed in passing that “[t]he duty to disclose knowledge of crime … is so vital that one known to be innocent may…
