Florida legislator jailed for not informing a jury

A Florida state representative spent a night in county jail for refusing to answer grand jury questions about the 1979 murder of a prison inmate -- information about which the lawmaker obtained while a chairman of a state House committee.

Rep. Arnett Girardeau questioned whether a state's attorney or a grand jury has the right to extract testimony from an official about potentially criminal information obtained while acting in a "legislative capacity." The Jacksonville Democrat refused to provide information he had about the convict's death which was given in confidence to a statehouse committee he chaired. A circuit judge ordered him to jail for 30 days or until he agreed to testify.