Liberal Forum

Continued....

Once it is determined that the Clause applies to a given action, the resulting protections from liability are absolute,7 and the action may not be made the basis for a civil or criminal judgment against a Member.8 In such a situation, the Clause acts as a jurisdictional bar to the legal claim.9 But this immunity is also complemented by two component privileges (an evidentiary privilege and a testimonial privilege) that emanate from the Clause and can be asserted to prevent certain compelled disclosures. Even if absolute immunity is inappropriate, the evidentiary component of the Clause prohibits the introduction of evidence of legislative acts for use against a Member,10 while the testimonial privilege protects Members from compelled testimony on protected acts.11 The Supreme Court has not explicitly framed the protections of the Clause by reference to these two independent component privileges, but has instead implicitly recognized their existence.12 As a result, these privileges are neither clearly established nor described, and may further contribute to the unsettled aspects of the Clause.