Supreme Court of United States.
CHASE, Justice.
The constitution gives to every man, charged with an offence, the benefit of compulsory process, to secure the attendance of his witnesses. I do not know of any privilege to exempt members of congress from the service, or the obligations, of a subpna, in such cases. I will not sign any letter of the kind proposed. If, upon service of a subpna, the members of congress do not attend, a different question may arise; and it will then be time enough to decide, whether an attachment ought, or ought not, to issue. It is not a necessary consequence of nonattendance, after the service of a subpna, that an attachment shall issue. A satisfactory reason may appear to the Court, to justify, or excuse, it.
PETERS, Justice.
I know the practice in Pennsylvania to be as it has been stated; for, I have received such letters, from the Supreme Court, while I was speaker of the house of representatives, requesting that members might be permitted to attend as witnesses. In the present case, I should have no objection to acquiesce in the defendant's application, with the concurrence of the presiding Judge.
Motion refused.
