Opinion ID: 2621451
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Was Asch's right to effective assistance of counsel violated as a result of counsel's calling a witness who refused to answer a question and was held in contempt of court?

Text: [¶ 48] Sutton was the only witness called at trial in Asch's defense. She testified that both the marijuana pipe and the methamphetamine seized by Swisher were hers, and that she had been the one who stuffed the methamphetamine down between the seats. On cross-examination, she refused to identify the person who had sold her the methamphetamine. Sutton was found in contempt of court and ordered to jail. The jury was then given the instruction quoted earlier herein to the effect that it could consider Sutton's refusal in evaluating her credibility. [¶ 49] Asch argues primarily that McLeod was ineffective because she called Sutton to the stand, knowing Sutton would refuse to identify her source. Secondarily, Asch contends that McLeod should have done a better job of dealing with the problem by questioning Sutton about her reasons for non-disclosure. Asch premises his contention that McLeod knew both that the prosecutor would ask Sutton about her source and that Sutton would refuse to answer, on a meeting held in the prosecutor's office a few days before trial. No one disputes that the prosecutor, Sutton, and Smith (her attorney) were present, or that Sutton said during the meeting that she would not reveal her source. Asch argues that McLeod was also present. At the motion hearing on remand, Smith testified, however, that he did not believe McLeod was present. McLeod flatly denied being there. [¶ 50] We are inclined not to pursue this contention beyond this point. Not only has Asch failed to provide convincing evidence that McLeod even knew Sutton would refuse to answer that particular question, but Asch has also not established that he was prejudiced by Sutton's refusal. We do not know how the jury perceived the matter, and we do not know what Sutton's answer would have been had she answered the question. And of even more consequence is the fact that Sutton basically was Asch's whole case. In the balance, Sutton's admission that the drugs were hers, and that she had hidden the methamphetamine as Swisher approached the car, was certainly more helpful to Asch's cause than her refusal to identify her source was harmful. Deciding whether or not to call Sutton as a witness is precisely the kind of discretionary decision that will not be second-guessed by this Court. Further, we cannot say that McLeod's direct or redirect examination of Sutton, whether or not McLeod knew of the intended refusal, was deficient.