Opinion ID: 564390
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Permitting Defendant's Parole Officer to Testify

Text: 25 The district court denied Perkins's motion to exclude the testimony of his parole officer, but ordered the government not to identify the officer's occupation. Despite the fact that the government never called the parole officer to testify, Perkins argues that the fact that the government had the right to do so adversely dictated the defendant's trial strategy, in particular, the choice of taking the stand. According to Perkins, this was tantamount to compelled self-incrimination, because Perkins would have to take the stand in order to preemptively raise the fact that he was on parole.... We find no error in this ruling. 26 First, a parole officer can be called to testify when his occupation and professional relationship with the defendant are not mentioned. See United States v. Langford, 802 F.2d 1176, 1180 (9th Cir.1986) (parole officer called to identify the defendant as the person in bank surveillance photographs), cert. denied, 483 U.S. 1008, 107 S.Ct. 3235, 97 L.Ed.2d 740 (1987); United States v. Butcher, 557 F.2d 666, 669 (9th Cir.1977) (police and parole officer identification of defendant proper). Even so, the government never called the parole officer; any complaint must therefore rest on the self-incrimination theory. 27 The fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination applies, for example, to prosecution comments on a defendant's failure to testify, Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 615, 85 S.Ct. 1229, 1233, 14 L.Ed.2d 106 (1965), and coercive police custodial interrogation, Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), not a defendant's own subjective perception of what constitutes a proper trial strategy. The defendant made a tactical decision to testify in light of all the circumstances of the case. As part of this strategy, on direct examination, defendant chose to testify as to his parole status and his prior offenses. The district court did not err in giving the government permission to call the parole officer.