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Speech or Debate Clause
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Speech or Debate Clause (found in Article I, Section 6, Clause 1) is a clause in the United States Constitution which states that members of both Houses of Congress
| “ | ...shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their attendance at the Session of their Respective Houses, and in going to and from the same, and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place. | ” |
Its intended purpose is to prevent a President or other officials of the Executive branch from having members arrested on a pretext to prevent them from voting a certain way or otherwise taking actions with which he or she might disagree.
A similar doctrine protects members of state legislatures in the United States, most legislators in most English-speaking countries, and in many other jurisdictions as well.
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In May 2006, following an FBI raid on the Capitol Hill office of Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-LA), some members of Congress have criticized the FBI's search as an unconstitutional breach of this clause. Those who support the FBI's position contend that the clause did not apply to the search of Jefferson because the congressman was alleged to have committed felonies of accepting bribes, obstructing a previous search, and storing in a freezer the money he accepted in bribery. Also, Jefferson was not arrested at the House, and the FBI investigation does not concern anything Jefferson said at Congress.
On August 6, 2006, Marine Corps staff sergeant Frank D. Wuterich, who led a squad of Marines into Haditha that killed 24 civilians, filed suit for libel and invasion of privacy. Wuterich claims that Congressman John Murtha's comments at a news conference on May 17, 2006 and in subsequent television interviews tarnished the Marine's reputation and constituted an invasion of privacy.
A federal judge ruled on September 28, 2007 that Murtha must testify at the Haditha defamation case. Commentators have expressed concern that Murtha was acting as lawmaker and, therefore, protected by the Speech or Debate Clause.[1] As of September 30, 2007, no appeal has been filed by Murtha, the Justice Department, or the House's General Counsel.
- ^ John Bresnahan. "Federal judge orders Murtha to testify in Haditha defamation case", Politico, 2007-09-28. Retrieved on 2007-09-30.
- Article on Speech or Debate Clause from Answers.com, taken from the West's Encyclopedia of American Law
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