Rights & liberties
testimonial immunity
A grant that lets prosecutors or Congress compel testimony despite the Fifth Amendment, by promising the testimony will not be used against the witness.
In full
Use immunity bars using the compelled testimony or anything derived from it; transactional immunity bars prosecution for the underlying offense entirely and is broader. Federal practice uses use immunity, which the Supreme Court held sufficient. Immunity grants can complicate later prosecutions, as they did after the Iran-Contra hearings.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.