Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 63 Part 1.djvu/581

 63 STAT.] 81ST CONG. , 1ST SESS.-CH. 393-AUG. 4, 1949 543 § 572. Courts of inquiry: authority to convene; composition; subpoenas; proceedings as evidence (a) Courts of inquiry may be convened by the Secretary of the Treasury, by the Commandant, and by any officer of the Coast Guard authorized to convene general courts-martial. A court of inquiry shall consist of not more ththathree commissioned officers as members and of a judge advocate. (b) Courts of inquiry may summon witnesses, administer oaths, and punish coitempts in the same manner as general courts-martial, but they shall only state facts and shall not give their opinion unless expressly required so to do in the convening order. (c) The proceedings of courts of inquiry shall be authenticated by the signature of the president of the court and of the judge advocate, and shall, in all cases not extending to the dismissal of a commissioned or warrant officer, be evidence before a general court-martial, provided oral testimony cannot be obtained. § 573. Contempts of court Whenever any person refuses to give his evidence before a general court-martial or court of inquiry, or prevaricates, or behaves with con- tempt to the court, the court may imprison him for not more than two months. The person charged shall, at his own request, but not other- wise, be a competent witness before a general court or court of inquiry, and his failure to make such request shall not create any presumption against him. § 574. Subpoenas; penalties (a) A general court-martial or court of inquiry may issue process to compel witnesses to appear and testify in the same manner as United States courts of criminal jurisdiction within the State, Terri- tory, or District where such court-martial or court of inquiry is ordered to sit. (b) Any person duly subpoenaed to appear as a witness before a general court-martial or court of inquiry, who willfully neglects or refuses to appear, or refuses to qualify as a witness or to testify or produce documentary evidence which such person may have been legally subpoenaed to produce, shall be deemed guilty of a misde- meanor, for which such person shall be punished on information in the district court of the United States; and the United States attorney shall, on the certification of the facts to him by such Coast Guard court-martial, file an information against and prosecute the person so offending, and the punishment of such person, on conviction, shall be a fine of not more than $500, or imprisonment not to exceed six months, or both, at the discretion of the court. This subsection shall not apply to persons residing beyond the State, Territory, or District in which such Coast Guard court-martial is held, and the fees of such witness and his mileage at the rates provided for witnesses in the United States district court for said State, Territory, or District shall be duly paid or tendered said witness, such amounts to be paid by the Coast Guard. No witness shall be compelled to incriminate him- self or to answer any question which may tend to incriminate or degrade him. § 575. Deserters: arrest of by civil authorities; penalties (a) Any civil officer having authority to arrest offenders under the laws of the United States or of any State, Territory, or District, may arrest summarily a deserter from the Coast Guard and deliver him into the custody of Coast Guard authorities. The Commandant may, pursuant to applicable regulations, provide for reimbursement for the

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