792
Opinion of Kennedy, J.
542-543 (1897); Counselman v. Hitchcock, 142 U. S. 547, 562 (1892). The principle extends to forbid policies which exert official compulsion that might induce a person into forfeiting his rights under the Clause. Lefkowitz v. Cunningham, 431 U. S. 801, 806 (1977) ("These cases settle that government cannot penalize assertion of the constitutional privilege against compelled self-incrimination by imposing sanctions to compel testimony which has not been immunized"); accord, Uniformed Sanitation Men Assn., Inc. v. Commissioner of Sanitation of City of New York, 392 U. S. 280 (1968); Gardner v. Broderick, 392 U. S. 273, 279 (1968). Justice Souter and Justice Thomas acknowledge a future privilege. Ante, at 777-778; ante, at 769. That does not end the matter. A future privilege does not negate a present right.
Their position finds some support in a single statement in United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez, 494 U. S. 259, 264 (1990) ("Although conduct by law enforcement officials prior to trial may ultimately impair that right [against compelled self-incrimination], a constitutional violation occurs only at trial"). That case concerned the application of the Fourth Amendment, and the extent of the right secured under the Self-Incrimination Clause was not then before the Court. Ibid. Furthermore, Verdugo-Urquidez involved a prosecution in the United States arising from a criminal investigation in another country, id., at 274-275, so there was a special reason for the Court to be concerned about the application of the Clause in that context, id., at 269 (noting the Court had "rejected the claim that aliens are entitled to Fifth Amendment rights outside the sovereign territory of the United States" (citing Johnson v. Eisentrager, 339 U. S. 763 (1950))). In any event, the decision cannot be read to support the proposition that the application of the Clause is limited in the way Justice Souter and Justice Thomas describe today.
A recent case illustrates that a violation of the Self-Incrimination Clause may have immediate consequences.
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