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(詳細はU.S. 178 (1957), is a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that held that the power of the United States Congress is not unlimited in conducting investigations, and that nothing in the U.S. Constitution gives it the authority to expose individuals' private affairs. ==Background== John Thomas Watkins, a labor union official from Rock Island, Illinois, was convicted of contempt of Congress, a misdemeanor under , for failing to answer questions posed by members of Congress during a hearing held by a subcommittee of the House of Representatives Committee on Un-American Activities on April 29, 1954. Watkins was born in July 1910 and ended his formal education in the eighth grade. At the time of his testimony he had four children and was working on behalf of the United Auto Workers (UAW) to unionize workers at a division of Firestone Rubber and Tire in Illinois. The UAW underwrote his legal expenses.〔''New York Times'': ("Court Ends his Dilemma," June 18, 1957 ), accessed June 16, 2012〕 Watkins was asked to name people he knew to be members of the Communist Party. Watkins told the subcommittee that he did not wish to answer such questions, that they were outside the scope of the subjects on which he was summoned to testify and of the committee's jurisdiction. He said:〔FindLaw: (John Watkins v. United States 354 U.S. 178 (1957) )〕 His conviction carried a fine of $100 and a one-year suspended prison sentence. Watkins first won a 3-2 decision on appeal to the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia〔''New York Times'': (Luther A. Huston, "U.S. Court Upsets Contempt Ruling," January 27, 1956 ), accessed June 16, 2012〕 and then lost 6-2 when that court heard the case ''en banc''.〔''New York Times'': (Luther A. Huston, "Red Cases Lead High Court's List," October 9, 1956 ), accessed June 16, 201〕 The Supreme Court heard arguments on March 7, 1957, and announced its decision on June 17, 1957. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Watkins v. United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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