Title: Simmons v. State

State: maryland

Issuer: Maryland Supreme Court

Document:

McKim McKenney Simmons v. State of Maryland 
No. 57, September Term, 2005.
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW - FIFTH AMENDMENT PRIVILEGE AGAINST SELF-
INCRIMINATION: The trial court has discretion to determine whether
a witness may be allowed to invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege in
the presence of the jury.  The holding of Gray v. State, 368 Md.
529, 796 A.2d 697 (2002), that, under certain circumstances, a
defendant may call a witness before the jury to have the witness
assert 
the 
Fifth 
Amendment 
privilege 
against 
self-incrimination, 
in
order to permit the jury to draw the negative inference that the
witness was the perpetrator of the charged crime, does not provide
a basis for the admission of evidence that another person would
assert the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination if
questioned about the events at issue in the defendant’s case if the
defendant does not follow the procedure set out in Gray, which
requires calling the other person as a witness. 
EVIDENCE - CROSS-EXAMINATION - RELEVANCY: The trial court did not
abuse its discretion in preventing the defense from questioning the
expert witness as to his knowledge of a witness’ out of court
purported assertion of the Fifth Amendment. 
In the Circuit Court for Howard County
Case No. 13-K-03-042581
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS
OF MARYLAND
No. 57
September Term, 2005
MCKIM MCKENNEY SIMMONS
v.
STATE OF MARYLAND
Bell, C.J.
Raker
Wilner
Cathell
Harrell
Battaglia
Greene,
JJ.
Opinion by Raker, J. 
Filed:   April 17, 2006
In this case, we must determine whether the trial court committed reversible error by
refusing to permit appellant during cross-examination of the State’s medical expert to ask the
expert whether his medical opinions concerning the victim’s injuries would change if he
knew that appellant’s wife had written a letter indicating her intent to assert her Fifth
Amendment privilege against self-incrimination if called to testify in the case.  We shall hold
that the trial court acted within its discretion in prohibiting this proposed line of cross-
examination, and affirm the judgment of the trial court.
I.
Appellant McKim McKenney Simmons was indicted by the Grand Jury for the Circuit
Court for Howard County for the offenses of physical child abuse, second degree assault, and
reckless endangerment.  He proceeded to trial before a jury and was convicted on all counts.
He was sentenced to a term of incarceration of ten years, four suspended, for the child abuse
conviction, and a concurrent three year sentence for reckless endangerment.  The assault
conviction was merged for sentencing purposes.
Around 7:10 a.m. on March 18, 2003, paramedics arrived at appellant’s apartment in
response to a 911 call.  The paramedics were let in by appellant, who told them that his
daughter Nyah had fallen off a bed.  Appellant then led the paramedics to the bedroom,
where they found Nyah lying on the bed.  Paramedics found her to be unresponsive, with a
weak pulse and shallow respiration.  They transported her to Howard County General
Hospital, accompanied in the ambulance by appellant.
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Upon arrival at Howard County General, Nyah was examined by Dr. Nizhut Hando.
Dr. Hando observed Nyah to be apneic, unresponsive, and breathing very shallowly.  He
believed she was suffering from intracraneal bleeding, but did not perform a CAT scan to
confirm this because he believed Nyah was not stable enough to undergo the scan.  Dr.
Hando regarded Nyah’s condition as “very critical,” and arranged to have her transported to
Johns Hopkins Hospital.  Another physician at Howard County General, Dr. Jackson Tsai,
treated Nyah before she was transported to Johns Hopkins.  Finding her vital signs unstable,
he established an airway for her to breathe through, and gave her IV fluids, medications, and
chest compressions in an effort to raise her heart rate.
Nyah was transported to Johns Hopkins, where she was diagnosed with right frontal
epidural hematoma, a left frontal subarachnoid epidural hemorrhage, right parietal subdural
hematoma, right parietal bone fracture, and interhemispheric subdural hematomas.  An
opthalmologist examined Nyah and determined that she had retinal hemorrhages and macular
folds in both eyes.
Appellant related the following version of the events of March 18th in a statement to
the police.  Nyah fell asleep around 10 p.m. the night before.  She slept on the floor because
she had fallen out of bed before.  Appellant awoke around 5:15 a.m. and helped his wife,
Patricia Dockery, get ready for work.  Dockery left around 6:20 a.m.  Nyah awoke some time
after Dockery left.  Appellant noticed that Nyah had what appeared to him to be vomit on her
shoulder, so he decided to give her a bath.  He laid Nyah on the bed, and left the room to get
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a plastic bathtub.  On his way back with the tub, appellant heard Nyah scream.  He then
dropped the tub, ran into the bedroom, and discovered Nyah on the floor, noticing that she
had a scratch on her face.  Appellant placed Nyah on the bed, and called his wife, Dockery,
around 7:03.  When Dockery did not answer, he left a message.  She did not call back, and
appellant called her again around 7:10, reaching her this time.  Dockery told him to call 911,
which he did.
After the police learned that Nyah’s doctors believed that her injuries were
nonaccidental, they re-questioned appellant on several occasions concerning the events of
the 18th, specifically confronting him with the diagnoses of the physicians and their belief
that Nyah’s injuries were likely caused by nonaccidental trauma.  Appellant consistently
adhered to the version of events he initially told police, expressly denying that he shook
Nyah.
Prior to trial, the State made an oral motion in limine to preclude the defense from
mentioning in opening statement the possibility that Dockery would assert her Fifth
Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.  The State relied upon Gray v. State, 368
Md. 529, 796 A.2d 697 (2002), and argued that whether Dockery could assert her privilege
before the jury needed to be first decided by the trial court, outside the presence of the jury.
Defense counsel indicated to the court that he had no intention of mentioning in opening “the
fact that my client’s wife has now invoked her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-
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incrimination.” Defense counsel expounded on his theory as to the admissibility of the
evidence as follows:
“My guess is, how the evidence is going to come out, that a
missing witness instruction will not lie with respect to that
[inaudible] . . .  She’s not uniquely available to the State.
Whether her assertion is capricious or real, I don’t think I’ll
ultimately get that instruction.  However, the State’s relying on
experts in this case—there were four people with this victim in
the last twenty-four hours before her injury.  If the State’s expert
is relying on any information from Ms. Dockery . . .  As a matter
of fact, if the State’s expert is relying on past O.B./G.Y.N.
records, pediatrician’s records, whatever factors go into their
determination for the timing of this injury, the cause of this
injury, clearly Ms. Dockery’s assertion of her Fifth Amendment
privilege goes to the heart of the matter that they must consider.
And if that expert has not considered it, this jury must know
how that would change his or her opinion.  I’ll ask permission
from the Court before I would confront one of the State’s
witnesses; however, if Ms. Dockery violently shook this baby
and this expert does not know that, this jury must.  And I
understand what the State is saying, and I have no issue—I was
not going to utilize the two letters have, or actually, the one; I
guess one was sent to the State, one was sent to me—wherein .
. .  And again, I can mark it or introduce it for the Court’s
consideration she asserts her Fifth Amendment.  I just believe
that is a factor in any experts’ determination of who caused this
injury, when the injury was caused . . . .”
Defense counsel agreed not to mention anything during opening statement about Dockery’s
intention to assert the privilege and the court reserved ruling on the issue, with the specific
assurance from defense counsel that the issue “will only come up during the expert’s
testimony, if at all.”
-5-
At trial, the State called Dr. Allen Walker, a physician at Johns Hopkins.  On direct
examination, Dr. Walker began by explaining the nature of Nyah’s injuries and the treatment
she received for them.  He then testified as to his discussions with appellant and Dockery
during the course of treating Nyah:
“Q:  [D]id you have occasion to meet at any time with Nyah
Simmons’ parents?
A:  I did.
Q:  Now, can you tell us when you met with Nyah Simmons’
parents?
A:  I met with the parents on March 20th at about 4 o’clock in
the afternoon.
* * * * * *
Q:  Now, can you describe what the purpose of the meeting on
March 20th at 4:00 p.m. was? 
A:  Yeah, several purposes.  The first was simply to sit down
and take what we call a history.  Trying to understand Nyah as
a child, and also understanding what lead to—to her condition.
Also to review with the parents what was going on.  Because the
pediatric intensive care unit or the PICU can be a very confusing
place.  There are lots of doctors involved.  And so we try to
make sure that parents understand what’s happening.  And in
particular what our thought processes are, what our opinions are,
and what they might expect, at least from the point of view of
the investigations to come, so that they at least don’t have a lot
of surprises in store for them.
Q:  Now, did you have occasion during the course of the
examination in preparation for your meeting to look at the
history that had been provided from the parents?
-6-
A:  Actually, we took—yes, and then we took the history
directly from the parents as well.”
Dr. Walker then offered his opinion as to the cause of Nyah’s injuries, testifying as follows:
“Q:  Dr. Walker, did you have occasion, after you reviewed the
records and the examination, when you were meeting with the
parents, and I guess at this point, I would say at this point, have
you had an opportunity to form an opinion as to what caused
injuries to Nyah Simmons?
A:  Yes.  You know, after review of the CT scans and x-rays and
the findings of the opthalmologist and some of our lab tests, yes.
Q:  And to a degree of medical certainty, Dr. Walker, can you
tell us what is your opinion as to the cause of Nyah Simmons’
injuries that exhibited themselves on March 18th?
A:  To a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the findings are
diagnostic of—of abusive head trauma by shaking.  And
because of fracture, there was at least one impact.  But these are
really diagnostic of—of physical child abuse in the form of
shaking, and at least one impact.”
Dr. Walker explained that his opinion was based on the fact that the injuries suffered by
Nyah are caused almost exclusively by shaking, and that Nyah’s injuries were too severe to
have been caused by falling off a bed.  Dr. Walker then testified as to the manifestation of
Nyah’s injuries:
“Q:  Can you tell us, Dr. Walker, a bit about when a child with
the extent of Nyah’s injuries would exhibit symptoms of these
injuries, sir?
A:  With the extent of these injuries—with the extent with
injuries to this extent, we would expect symptoms immediately
or certainly within seconds.
-7-
Q:  And what type of symptoms would you expect based on the
injuries that were inflicted upon Nyah?
A:  Typically, first, a change in consciousness, a what we call a
stupor where somebody doesn’t quite know where they are or
what’s going on, and then very quickly a loss of consciousness,
and then ultimately a loss of the reflexes that kind of keep the
heart going, and keep breathing going, and that sort of thing.
Q:  Now, how long would a child be able to survive without
medical intervention with these types of injuries, Dr. Walker?
A:  Minutes.”
On cross-examination, defense counsel asked whether Dr. Walker had reviewed
Dockery’s prenatal records in forming his opinion as to the cause of her injuries, and
attempted to determine the extent to which Dr. Walker was aware of pretrial statements made
by appellant and Dockery.  He then asked Dr. Walker whether Nyah’s symptoms could have
manifested themselves after a longer interval than he had previously indicated in his direct
testimony:
“Q:  What are occult injuries, if you know that term?
A:  Occult injuries would be injuries that aren’t immediately
obvious on examination.
Q:  And are there occurrences in a shaken baby case or child
abuse cases where there are lucid intervals for children or young
children after trauma?
A:  That’s currently a matter of investigation.
Q:  In the academic literature have you seen anything regarding
lucid intervals after injury?
-8-
A:  Some people do describe them, yes.
Q:  Have you ever personally seen that after head trauma?
A:  After minimal head trauma, yes.  After major head injury,
no.
Q:  CPR can cause venous pressure and also cause retinal
damage, or retinal hemorrhaging, correct?
A:  That’s not been demonstrated, no.
Q:  In the academic literature, have you read anything about
retinal hemorrhages coming or increasing from CPR use?
A:  I’ve read fairly extensively in the literature about that
question, and to my—and in my opinion there is no evidence
that supports the occurrence of retinal hemorrhages as a result
of CPR.”
Defense counsel then inquired as to the basis of Dr. Walker’s medical opinions:
“Q:  The prosecutor . . . asked you if you looked at the whole
injury when forming an opinion, and you indicated, you know,
pregnancy, the vaccine, yes, you do look at everything; is that
correct?
A:  We consider everything.
Q:  And the mother and father’s communications to you are
factors in your determination of what happened?
A:  That’s correct.”
Prior to Dr. Walker’s testimony, the court, out of the presence of the jury, again
considered whether appellant could ask Dr. Walker on cross-examination if his opinion as
to the timing of the incident that caused Nyah’s injuries would change if he knew that
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Dockery had written letters to the parties’ lawyers stating that she refused to testify in the
case on Fifth Amendment grounds.  Dockery’s letter to the State’s Attorney read as follows:
“This letter is concerning the case of Maryland vs. Simmons.  I
am the spouse of Mr. Simmons and effective immediately
choose to assert my 5th Amendment rights and not testify for or
against my husband in the afore mentioned case.  From this
point forward, I will not discuss any details of the alleged events
that took place on March 18, 2003.”
Her letter to defense counsel was similar.
Patricia Dockery was never called to testify at the trial.  Defense counsel made clear
to the court that he had no intention of calling Dockery to the stand to have her invoke her
Fifth Amendment privilege in the presence of the jury.  Defense counsel proffered Dockery’s
letters to show that he had a good faith basis for his proposed line of cross-examination.
Defense counsel requested leave of the court to ask Dr. Walker “in forming [his]
opinion for this jury as the fact finder, one of the factors is, did someone else do it.  And if
they don’t know that someone else has invoked the Fifth, I think I have the right to ask them
that.”  In addition, he told the court that he believed he was entitled to pursue this line of
questioning because he believed that the expert intended to rely at least in part on Dockery’s
statements in order to offer an opinion on the timing of the injuries, and that consequently
the expert’s opinion as to the timing of the injuries may change if he were to draw a negative
inference about the veracity of her prior statements given her intention to assert her Fifth
Amendment privilege if called to testify.
The State opposed the request, making the following points:
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“The doctor can’t testify who he thinks did this.  Basically he’s
just going to come in, summarize the injuries, and say this is
[what] happened to this child.  This is the cause of these injuries.
He does not point a finger as to one person or the other.  That
would be impermissible. . . . Number two, for a Fifth
Amendment issue to be asserted, the person has to come into
Court and do it.  And obviously the State’s not going to call her
to do that and I think if the defense, in presenting the defense
that somebody else did it, wants to do that, they have to call her
to have her invoke on the record.”
(Emphasis added).  The prosecutor explained to the court her reasons for offering Dr.
Walker’s testimony: 
“The State is offering [Dr. Walker] for explaining the nature of
the injuries which have been stipulated to which were suffered
by this child explaining the mechanism of injury to this child. .
. .  He will testify that once these injuries have been inflicted
upon a child, the extent of these injuries is such that the
symptoms that would have been seen by a person would have
been almost automatic. . . .  I will tell you we didn’t send Dr.
Walker all of the police reports and discovery materials because
we were focusing on the child’s injuries, the nature of the
injuries, the mechanism of injuries and the timing of those
injuries.  And that is what he is being called on.”
The trial court agreed with the State that it was improper to ask Dr. Walker’s opinion as to
who actually caused the injury.
The court ruled that defense counsel could not ask Dr. Walker on cross-examination
whether his opinion as to the timing of Nyah’s injuries would be altered if he learned that
Dockery intended to assert her Fifth Amendment rights at trial if called to testify.  The court
based its ruling on its conclusion that appellant’s cross-examination of Dr. Walker on the
issue of the timing of the injuries would not be aided by the proposed line of questioning:
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“[THE COURT]: I don’t see any problem, I mean I certainly
don’t see any problem and certainly it would be appropriate for
you to cross-examine as to if the testimony’s going to be that
these symptoms would have occurred immediately for you to
challenge that and to question whether or not the injuries could
have occurred at an earlier time.  I mean the jury already has the
information that the mother was there until 6:30 that morning.
I just, you know, the whole Fifth Amendment issue, I’m just not
sure how—why that would make a difference with the
physician.
“[Defense counsel]: I think it makes—I think it would be a
factor for the physician in telling this jury his opinion.
“[THE COURT]: I don’t know.  I think you can still cross-
examine.  I don’t think it [is] appropriate.  I think that it could be
interpreted that this is being offered for some other reason to get
this before the jury.  And I don’t think that that’s appropriate.
I think you can certainly challenge as to the timing without
getting into the fact that she’s asserted her Fifth Amendment
right against self-incrimination.” 
Appellant noted a timely appeal to the Court of Special Appeals, and we issued a writ
of certiorari on our own initiative prior to consideration by the intermediate appellate court.
388 Md. 404, 879 A.2d 1086 (2005).
II.
Appellant’s defense at trial was that the injury sustained by Nyah was caused by his
wife, Patricia Dockery.  He argues on appeal that “the trial court erred in refusing to allow
the defense to place before the jury the fact that Ms. Dockery asserted her Fifth Amendment
privilege against self-incrimination in this matter and further erred in preventing the defense
1 The “Questions Presented” section of appellant’s brief contained a single question
for our consideration on appeal:
“Did the trial court err in not admitting into evidence the fact
that appellant’s wife exerted her Fifth Amendment privilege
against self-incrimination as a reason for her not testifying in
this case?”
Appellant’s argument section raises the additional issue of whether the trial court erred in
prohibiting appellant’s proposed cross-examination of Dr. Walker.  If this case were before
us pursuant to a grant of a writ of certiorari subsequent to decision in the Court of Special
Appeals, we would ordinarily restrict ourselves to consideration of the questions presented
in the certiorari petition.  See Md. Rule 8-131(b)(1); Wynn v. State, 351 Md. 307, 322-23, 718
A.2d 588, 595-96 (1998).  In this case, however, because we granted certiorari prior to
decision in the Court of Special Appeals, we must “consider those issues that would have
been cognizable by the Court of Special Appeals.”  Md. Rule 8-131(b)(2).
In Langworthy v. State, 284 Md. 588, 399 A.2d 578 (1979), we held that an appellant
failed to adequately raise an issue in the Court of Special Appeals when the issue was neither
raised in the questions presented nor in the argument section of his brief.  See id. at 595-96,
399 A.2d at 582-83 (citing predecessors of Md. Rule 8-504(a)(3), requiring statement of
questions presented in party’s brief, and Md. Rule 8-504(a)(5), requiring “[a]rgument in
support of the party’s position” in party’s brief).  We have not, however, held that a party
fails to adequately raise an issue before the Court of Special Appeals when the party fails to
separately state the issue in the questions presented section of its brief, but raises the issue
in the argument section of its opening brief.  Consequently, we shall consider the issue of
whether the trial court erred in limiting the scope of appellant’s cross-examination of Dr.
Walker, despite the fact that appellant’s only question presented does not raise this issue.
Appellant also argues that the trial court erred by refusing to follow Gray and admit
Dockery’s letters into evidence.  Although the letters were marked as defense exhibits,
(continued...)
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to use this evidentiary fact as a basis on which to question the medical findings of the State’s
expert witness.”  Relying on our holding in Gray v. State, 368 Md. 529, 796 A.2d 697
(2002), that a criminal defendant can, under some circumstances, offer into evidence a
witness’ assertion of his or her Fifth Amendment privilege, appellant argues that the trial
court’s refusal to permit his proposed line of cross-examination of Dr. Walker was
erroneous.1 
1(...continued)
appellant did not attempt to offer them into evidence after the trial court ruled that he could
not cross-examine Dr. Walker about Dockery’s purported assertion of her privilege against
self-incrimination.
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Appellee’s reply is twofold.  First, appellee contends that Gray is inapposite to the
issue before the Court.  Appellee argues that Gray applies only when a defendant seeks to
have a witness take the stand at trial and assert the Fifth Amendment privilege; appellant did
not seek to do so and told the court he had no intention of calling Dockery as a witness.
Second, appellee maintains that the trial court acted within its discretion to control cross-
examination when it ruled that appellant could not pursue his proposed cross-examination
of Dr. Walker.
III.
Appellant’s first argument before this Court rests entirely on Gray v. State, 368 Md.
529, 796 A.2d 697 (2002).  Although at first glance this case may seem to present an issue
concerning the scope of our holding in Gray, upon examination it becomes clear that it does
not, as Gray is inapposite to the facts before us.  Appellant’s theory is apparently two-
pronged: first, in an effort to show that someone else other than the defendant shook the
baby, the trial court erred in not permitting the defense to place before the jury the fact that
Dockery asserted her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, and second, that
the court erred in preventing the defense from using Dockery’s assertion of the privilege to
question Dr. Walker’s testimony as to the timing of the shaking of the baby.
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Appellant’s argument that the trial court erred in refusing to allow the defense to place
before the jury the fact that Dockery asserted her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-
incrimination is not properly before this Court because he never attempted to have Dockery
assert her Fifth Amendment privilege before the jury.  As a result, the issue is not before us
because it was not raised in or decided by the trial court.  See Md. Rule 8-131(a); Walker v.
State, 338 Md. 253, 262, 658 A.2d 239, 243 (1995).
On the merits, appellant’s argument fails for several reasons.  His first argument is
meritless because this case does not fall within the reasoning of Gray.  His second argument
is specious as well, because Dockery’s so-called assertion of the privilege has nothing to do
with Dr. Walker’s medical opinion as to the timing of the injury to the baby.  In addition,
Dockery never exerted her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.  She only
expressed an intention to do so in letters mailed sometime before the trial, notwithstanding
the trial court’s characterization of these letters as a bona fide assertion of the privilege.
A. The Applicability of Gray v. State
In Gray, we considered the question of whether a trial court had discretion to
determine whether a witness should be allowed to invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege in
the presence of the jury.  Gray, 368 Md. at 532-33, 796 A.2d at 699.  In that case, we
considered a limited exception to the general rule in criminal cases that a witness may not
invoke the Fifth Amendment before the jury.  We held that under certain circumstances, a
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defendant in a criminal case may call a witness at trial before the jury to invoke the privilege
against self-incrimination.  Id. at 564, 769 A.2d at 717.  We stated as follows:
“We believe that a trial court has some discretion to consider
permitting a defendant in a criminal case to call a witness to the
stand to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege in the presence
of the jury if the trial court first determines whether sufficient
evidence has been presented, believable by any trier of fact, of
the possible guilt of the witness the defendant wants to cause to
invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege before the jury.  The
court, in the exercise of that discretion, must consider, as well,
the prejudice to the defense of not allowing the potentially
exculpatory witness to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege in
the presence of the jury.  In opining that such discretion exists,
we note that such testimony, if permitted, might be subject to the
same restraints that a trial judge normally may exercise as to
relevancy, repetitiveness, and the like.”
Id. at 558-59, 796 A.2d at 714 (emphasis added).  Judge Cathell, writing for the Court, set
out a general procedure to be followed:
“When a defendant proffers a defense that the crime was
committed by another person and the defendant wants to call as
a witness that person only to invoke his Fifth Amendment
privilege against self-incrimination on the witness stand in the
presence of the jury, the trial court, on the record, should make
a determination of whether sufficient other evidence has been
proffered that, if believed by any trier of fact, might link the
accused witness to the commission of the crime.  If the trial
court finds that such sufficient evidence, linking the accused
witness to the crime and believable by any trier of fact, exists
that could possibly cause any trier of fact to infer that the
witness might have committed the crime for which the
defendant is being tried, then the trial court has the discretion to
permit, and limit as normally may be appropriate, the defendant
to question the witness, generally, about his involvement in the
offense and have him invoke his Fifth Amendment right in the
jury’s presence.”
2 Because we reversed Gray’s conviction on other grounds, we did not opine on the
proper procedure to be followed when a defendant desires to present a witness whom the
defendant asserts is the perpetrator of the crime for which the defendant is charged, and that
witness desires to exercise the right to remain silent.  Id. at 558, A.2d at 714.  Judge Wilner,
in his concurring opinion, joined by Judges Raker and Harrell, discussed the trial court’s
exercise of the discretion to admit such testimony.  His suggestion as to the best course of
action for the trial court bears repeating:
“In many instances, perhaps in most, the best course of action
would be to have the witness invoke the privilege and make
clear his or her unwillingness to testify, outside the presence of
the jury, and for the court then to inform the jury that (1) the
witness was called to testify, (2) the witness invoked his or her
right not to answer questions, (3) the witness may not be
compelled to give testimony that might be self-incriminating,
and (4) it is for that reason that the jury will not be hearing from
the witness.  Except in those situations where it is particularly
important for the witness to be called to the stand before the
jury—where, for example, the witness is willing to testify to
some matters but not to others—this procedure not only informs
the jury of the true state of affairs but gives the defendant the
full prospect of the desired inference without the danger of
unfair prejudice either to the witness or to the State.”
Id. at 583, 796 A.2d at 729.
-16-
Id. at 564, 796 A.2d at 717.
Appellant’s reliance upon Gray is misplaced.  Defense counsel made clear to the trial
court, over and over again, that he had no intention of calling Dockery as a witness.  He
never asked the court for permission to question Dockery about her alleged involvement in
the offense and to have her invoke her Fifth Amendment privilege before the jury.2  There
is simply no error and no Gray violation.
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B. The Cross-Examination of Dr. Walker
 The only proper question before this Court on appeal is whether the trial court abused
its discretion in preventing the defense from questioning Dr. Walker as to his knowledge of
Dockery’s purported assertion of her Fifth Amendment privilege as expressed in her letters
and whether his knowledge of Dockery’s purported assertion of the privilege would affect
his opinions as to the nature and timing of Nyah’s injuries.
Managing the scope of cross-examination is a matter that falls within the sound
discretion of the trial court.  See, e.g., Marshall v. State, 346 Md. 186, 193, 695 A.2d 184,
187 (1997).  A trial court does not abuse that discretion when it excludes cross-examination
that is irrelevant.  See Md. Rule 5-402 (irrelevant evidence is inadmissible).  Evidence is
relevant if it has “any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to
the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the
evidence.”  Md. Rule 5-401.
The Fifth Amendment states in part that “No person . . . shall be compelled in any
criminal case to be a witness against himself.”  U.S. Const. amend. V.  This prohibition
permits a person to refuse to answer official questions at any proceeding where his answers
might incriminate him in future criminal proceedings.  Minnesota v. Murphy, 465 U.S. 420,
426, 104 S. Ct. 1136, 1141, 79 L. Ed. 2d 409 (1984).  To invoke the privilege, the witness
need not be guilty of a crime.  The privilege extends not only to answers that would in
themselves support a criminal conviction but also includes those answers that would furnish
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a link in the chain of evidence needed to prosecute the person for a crime.  The constitutional
protection is confined, however, to those circumstances where the witness has reasonable
cause to apprehend danger from a direct answer.  Mason v. United States, 244 U.S. 362, 364-
65, 37 S. Ct. 621, 622, 61 L. Ed. 1198 (1917).  Significantly, it is not for the witness or
counsel to determine whether a witness can properly assert the privilege against self-
incrimination; the witness’s merely saying that he or she would be incriminated does not
excuse the witness from answering the questions.  It is the duty of the trial judge to determine
whether the witness can properly assert the privilege against self-incrimination and whether
the witness’s silence is justified.  See Rogers v. United States, 340 U.S. 367, 374, 71 S. Ct.
438, 442, 95 L. Ed. 344 (1951); Bhagwat v. State, 338 Md. 263, 272, 658 A.2d 244, 248
(1995).  To sustain the privilege, it need only be evident from the implications of the
question, in the setting in which it is asked, that a responsive answer to the question or an
explanation of why it cannot be answered might be dangerous because injurious disclosure
could result.  See Bhagwat, 338 Md. at 272-73, 658 A.2d at 248.  “The trial judge in
appraising the claim ‘must be governed as much by his personal perception of the
peculiarities of the case as by the facts actually in evidence.’”  Hoffman v. United States, 341
U.S. 479, 487, 71 S. Ct. 814, 818, 95 L. Ed. 1118 (1951) (quoting Ex Parte Irvine, 74 F. 954,
960 (C.C.S.D. Ohio 1896) (Taft, J.)); see also State v. Williams, 511 A.2d 1000, 1004 (Conn.
1986) (quoting Ex Parte Irvine, 74 F. at 960).  In Bhagwat, we reiterated the test for the
witness’s entitlement to invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege as follows:
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“The test of the witness’s entitlement to invoke the privilege
against self-incrimination—(1) whether there is a reasonable
basis for the invocation of the privilege; and (2) whether the
privilege is invoked in good faith, was well stated in Choi v.
State, 316 Md. 529, 560 A.2d 1108 (1989).  It is whether ‘the
witness has reasonable cause to apprehend danger from a direct
answer,’ and whether it is ‘evident from the implications of the
question, in the setting in which it is asked, that a responsive
answer to the question or an explanation of why it cannot be
answered might be dangerous because injurious disclosure could
result.’”
Bhagwat, 338 Md. at 272-73, 658 A.2d at 248 (internal citations omitted).
Applying these well-settled principles, it is clear that Dockery’s letters do not amount
to a bona fide assertion of her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
Dockery was never actually called as a witness at trial.  Consequently, no questions regarding
the events surrounding Nyah’s injuries were ever posed to her in an official proceeding, and
there was no determination by the trial court that she had reasonable cause to apprehend a
danger of self-incrimination by answering such questions.  Thus, Dockery did not assert her
privilege against self-incrimination, as she was never placed into a position in which the
privilege would potentially be assertable.  Therefore, her letters are, at best, a statement of
her intention to assert her privilege against self-incrimination if called to testify at appellant’s
trial, not a genuine assertion of the privilege. 
Despite the fact that Dockery’s intention to assert her Fifth Amendment privilege
against self-incrimination does not satisfy legal requirements to invoke the privilege, the trial
judge seemed to treat them as such.  Accordingly, we will consider the correctness vel non
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of the trial judge’s ruling.  As explained infra, the trial judge’s exclusion of the proposed
cross-examination based upon the letters on grounds that the letters were not relevant to
challenging the bases of his opinions was proper.  Appellant attempted to question Dr.
Walker regarding Dockery’s intention to assert her privilege against self-incrimination
purportedly for two purposes: (1) to challenge the basis of Dr. Walker’s opinions concerning
the causes of Nyah’s injuries; and (2) to challenge the basis of Dr. Walker’s opinions
concerning the timing of the manifestation of Nyah’s symptoms.  Dockery’s intention to
assert her Fifth Amendment privilege is simply not relevant to Dr. Walker’s bases for these
opinions.  Consequently, the trial judge did not abuse her discretion by preventing appellant
from cross-examining Dr. Walker regarding Dockery’s intention to assert the privilege.
As appellant’s attorney made clear, his actual purpose for his proposed line of cross-
examination of Dr. Walker was to challenge Dr. Walker’s opinion concerning who caused
Nyah’s injuries.  Appellant’s attorney presupposed that Dr. Walker had formed such an
opinion, and that this opinion provided a basis for the opinions he had concerning the nature
and causes of Nyah’s injuries.  As he explained to the court, he believed that Dr. Walker, “in
forming [his] opinion for this jury . . . one of the factors is, did someone else do it,” and that,
for this reason, he was entitled to ask Dr. Walker whether his opinions about the nature,
causes, and timing of Nyah’s injuries would change if he knew that Dockery had expressed
her intention to assert her privilege against self-incrimination if called to testify at trial.
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Appellant’s supposition here concerning the basis for Dr. Walker’s opinion about the
nature, causes, and timing of Nyah’s injuries is simply mistaken.  Dr. Walker did not rely on
any opinion about who actually caused Nyah’s injuries in forming his opinion about the
nature, causes, or timing of these injuries.  As his testimony, both on direct examination and
cross-examination, makes clear, the bases for his opinions about the nature of the injuries
Nyah suffered were the medical reports of the other doctors who examined and treated Nyah,
his own examination of Nyah, and Nyah’s medical history, which he learned in part from
Dockery.  His opinion that Nyah’s injuries were caused by shaking was based on his
conclusion that Nyah suffered certain types of injuries, along with his expert opinion that
injuries of this sort are almost exclusively caused by shaking.  Similarly, Dr. Walker’s
opinion that Nyah’s symptoms would have manifested shortly after the injuries were caused
was based on his conclusions about the types of injuries Nyah suffered.  As a result, Dr.
Walker’s opinions concerning the nature, causes, and timing of Nyah’s injuries were not
based on any opinion concerning who inflicted the injuries.  Consequently, evidence of
Dockery’s intention to assert her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination would
not tend to undermine the bases for Dr. Walker’s opinions concerning the nature, causes, or
timing of Nyah’s injuries by undermining his opinion concerning who inflicted Nyah’s
injuries, as Dr. Walker’s opinions about the nature, causes, and timing of Nyah’s injuries
were not based on any such opinion about who inflicted the injuries.  Therefore, it was not
relevant for the purpose for which it was offered, and the trial court properly prohibited
-22-
appellant from asking Dr. Walker about this evidence on cross-examination.  Moreover, the
trial court correctly observed that Dr. Walker could not testify as to who caused the injuries.
JUDGMENTS OF THE CIRCUIT
COURT FOR HOWARD COUNTY
AFFIRMED.  COSTS TO BE PAID BY
APPELLANT.