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Glite Dictionary
testimonial immunity

testimonial immunity

9.5
Protection that stops a court using a witness's forced answers or evidence from those answers against them
  • noun
  • /ˌtɛstəˈmoʊniəl ɪˈmjunɪti/
  • Formal
translation icon : inmunidad testimonial
  • Can you explain testimonial immunity to me?

Examples

  • Without testimonial immunity, she would have risked incriminating herself on the stand.

  • Prosecutors offered testimonial immunity to ensure the key witness would testify truthfully.

  • The witness was granted testimonial immunity in exchange for his cooperation with the investigation.

  • The defendant was granted testimonial immunity during the trial.

  • The lawyer advised the witness to seek testimonial immunity before providing any statements that could incriminate him.

  • In exchange for his cooperation, the prosecution granted her testimonial immunity for her statements about the crime.

  • Without testimonial immunity, he was reluctant to share details that could potentially lead to his prosecution.

Synonyms

use immunity
vstestimonial immunity
  • Formal
1 8.9

A legal protection that stops a witness's forced testimony or evidence from being used to find them guilty

frames the measure as a protection removing self incrimination risk in trials

Antonyms

self-incrimination
  • Formal
7 8.7

To admit you did a crime so police can charge you

Surface Forms

testimonial immunity singular
testimonial immunities plural

Morphology

testimonial + immunity

The compound is directly compositional: 'testimonial' (relating to testimony) + 'immunity' (legal protection) yields a protection concerning testimony. Although the full legal implications are specialized, a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer that it means legal protection from consequences related to giving testimony.

Etymology

Testimonial immunity comes from the image of giving a witness a shield: testimonial means the witness's words and immunity means protection, so those words are kept safe. So the witness can speak without their testimony being used against them in court and without the risk of 'self-incrimination'.