Opinion ID: 2211188
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Identity of an informer.

Text: Hector Jordan testified that he made the purchase of the marijuana from the defendant. Agent Jordan was the complainant and one of the principal witnesses at the trial. In cross-examining Jordan, counsel for the defendant sought to have him disclose the identity of an informer who told him that the defendant would be present at the time and place the offense is alleged to have taken place. Objections to this cross-examination were taken by the state and sustained by the court. Defendant now submits that the trial court erred in not requiring Jordan to disclose the identity of such an informer. The identity of an informer may be required where the disclosure of an informer's identity, or of the contents of his communication, is relevant and helpful to the defense of the accused. However, in this case the identity of the informant is not even remotely relevant to the issue of guilt or innocence. Roviaro v. United States (1957), 353 U. S. 53, 60, 77 Sup. Ct. 623, 1 L. Ed. 2d 639, 645. This court and the United States Supreme Court have recognized that the identity of an informer need not always be disclosed. Stelloh v. Liban (1963), 21 Wis. 2d 119, 126, 127, 124 N. W. 2d 101; McCray v. Illinois (1967), 386 U. S. 300, 310, 87 Sup. Ct. 1056, 18 L. Ed. 2d 62. In this case we conclude that the trial court did not err in not requiring the witness to identify the informer.