Ross v. State
Ross v. State
Opinion of the Court
Ross, a restaurant owner, was convicted by jury for a violation of the Georgia Employment Security Law, Code Ann. Ch. 54-6, by refusing to produce his payroll records for inspection by the State
Ross refused to produce his records on the ground that such evidence might subject him to federal prosecution. The United States Supreme Court rejected this argument in Murphy v. Waterfront Comm. of N. Y. Harbor, 378 U.S. 52, 79 (84 SC 1594, 12 LE2d 678) (1964): “[W]e hold the constitutional rule to be 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. We conclude, moreover, that in order to implement this constitutional rule and accommodate the interests of the State and Federal Governments in investigating and prosecuting crime, the Federal Government must be prohibited from making any such use of compelled testimony and its fruits.”
The trial judge properly quashed Ross’ motion to produce all correspondence between the Internal Revenue Service and the State Employment Security Agency, as this cannot relate to the question of his guilt or innocence.
Ross’ remaining enumerations of error regarding the jury charge and the insufficiency of the evidence are without merit.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- ROSS v. State
- Status
- Published