Cite as: 536 U. S. 24 (2002)
Stevens, J., dissenting
meandering attempt to justify its unprecedented departure from a rule of law that has been settled since the days of John Marshall, I respectfully dissent.
I
The text of the Fifth Amendment provides that no person "shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself." It is well settled that the prohibition "not only permits a person to refuse to testify against himself at a criminal trial in which he is a defendant, but also 'privileges him not to answer official questions put to him in any other proceeding, civil or criminal, formal or informal, where the answers might incriminate him in future criminal proceedings.' " Minnesota v. Murphy, 465 U. S. 420, 426 (1984) (quoting Lefkowitz v. Turley, 414 U. S. 70, 77 (1973)). If a person is protected by the privilege, he may "refuse to answer unless and until he is protected at least against the use of his compelled answers and evidence derived therefrom in any subsequent criminal case in which he is a defendant." Id., at 78 (citing Kastigar v. United States, 406 U. S. 441 (1972)). Prison inmates—including sex offenders—do not forfeit the privilege at the jailhouse gate. Murphy, 465 U. S., at 426.
It is undisputed that respondent's statements on the admission of responsibility and sexual history forms could incriminate him in a future prosecution for perjury or any other offense to which he is forced to confess.1 It is also
1 As a participant in the Sexual Abuse Treatment Program (SATP), respondent would be required to sign an "Admission of Responsibility" form setting forth the details of the offense for which he was convicted. Because he had testified at trial that his sexual intercourse with the victim before driving her back to her car was consensual, the District Court found that a written admission on this form would subject respondent to a possible charge of perjury. 24 F. Supp. 2d 1152, 1157 (Kan. 1998). In addition, the SATP requires participants to "generate a written sexual history which includes all prior sexual activities, regardless of whether such activities constitute uncharged criminal offenses." Id., at
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