Murphy et. al. v. Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor

The Court looked to the policies and purposes of the Fifth Amendment right to be free from compulsory self- incrimination. “Most, if not all, of these policies and purposes are defeated when a witness ‘can be whipsawed into incriminating himself under both state and federal law even though’ the constitutional privilege against selfincrimination is applicable to each.” The Fifth Amendment right against compulsory self-incrimination protects a “state witness against incrimination under federal as well as state law and a federal witness against incrimination under state as well as federal law.” Accordingly, the Court held that “a state witness may not be compelled to give testimony which may be incriminating under federal law unless the compelled testimony and its fruits cannot be used in any manner by federal officials in connection with a criminal prosecution against him.”