Selective Use of the Executive Immunity Power: A Denial of Due Process?

Abstract

Attacks on the government\u27s power to grant immunity to cooperative witnesses have been premised on several grounds, including the due process clause of the fifth amendment. It is upon this clause that the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York based a decision that a defendant was denied due process when the government refused to immunize him after granting immunization to its own witnesses. This article examines traditional arguments against challenging a prosecutor\u27s immunity discretion, the procedural and substantive factors necessary in substantiating a defendant\u27s due process claim, and the effect of immunization on the government\u27s burden of proof in future prosecutions