Opinion ID: 1635701
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Request for immunity grant to a witness for defendant.

Text: Defendant claims that the Wisconsin statute allowing the court to grant immunity to a witness only upon motion of the state is unconstitutional (sec. 972.08, Stats.); the reason being that it provides no reciprocal right for immunity to be granted upon the motion of the defendant. In this case the defendant wanted to have Tyrone Daniels granted immunity so that he would testify on behalf of the defendant. The district attorney objected on the quite reasonable ground that he was convinced Mr. Daniels would perjure himself. Mr. Daniels' statement read into the record did not indicate he would be such an unequivocally helpful witness for the defendant, and this was considered by the court in denying the defendant's motion. The matter of the right to have a witness granted immunity was discussed by this court in Hebel v. State (1973), 60 Wis. 2d 325, 331, 210 N. W. 2d 695: Traditionally, the granting of immunity has been for the benefit of the state and an accused cannot invoke the statutory provision to compel a witness to testify  in his behalf. 98 C. J. S., Witnesses, p. 262, sec. 439; 22 C. J. S., Criminal Law, pp. 160, 161, sec. 46 (2). See Kastigar v. United States (1972), 406 U. S. 441, 92 Sup. Ct. 1653, 32 L. Ed. 2d 212, in which the court reviewed the historical foundation of immunity statutes and discusses their purpose and constitutional validity. It has been held that immunity statutes which provide government with the power to compel the testimony of a witness but do not afford a correlative right to the accused are not a denial of equal protection of the laws. See State v. McCown (1973), 189 Neb. 495, 203 N. W. 2d 445. Likewise, such immunity statutes do not constitute a denial of due process and in the absence of a policy of unfair and unequal law enforcement, the prosecution may select a codefendant or a coconspirator to whom immunity shall be given. See People v. Williams (1970), 11 Cal. App. 3d 1156, 90 Cal. Rptr. 409. But this unfair and unequal law enforcement relates to those to whom immunity could be granted, not to one who collaterally seeks immunity for a prospective witness. If Hebel were correct in his argument he would have a right to immunize all participants to the crime in return for exculpatory evidence. The result of such a doctrine in some cases would be to free all the participants but one. We see no reasonable relationship between the immunity power of the prosecutor and his duty not to conceal exculpatory evidence. We reaffirm our statement in Hebel and conclude there is no constitutional defect in sec. 972.08, Stats., nor was there error in the trial court's refusal to grant immunity to Daniels.