Hello,

Today I was contacted by a US Customs agent and informed that they have a summons to serve on me. They want my testimony against a defendant I once had business dealings with.

I told the agent that I had problems giving testimony, as I knew what the questions would be. If I answered their questions I would be waiving my Right not to incriminate myself, among other issues which I will not get into at this time.

The agent was not to happy, and proceeded to threaten me with action that would be taken if I refused to testify, and told me that the conversation was being recorded.

I thanked the agent for making a record of our conversation, and stated: For the record, I am not refusing to cooperate or testify, but I reserve ALL my rights at this time.

This agent now has a little problem - when the threat was made, I realized immediately that the action threatened could NOT BE LEGALLY TAKEN. I immediately informed the agent of this fact, and after stammering a bit, the agent admitted my allegation to be truthful.

So, my question is this: Does that not fall under the legal definition of "COERCION"? And if so, where is the federal law regarding coercion, or would it be better to pursue crimminal action on a state level, should I choose to pursue this issue?

Thanks!
T