Opinion ID: 170336
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Ordering a Witness to Testify at Trial

Text: In his motion to alter or amend, Mr. Valdez first argued that the trial court violated his right to a fair trial by ordering a witness, the co-defendant Jose Avalos, to testify. The Kansas Supreme Court rejected this argument on the -6- grounds that Mr. Valdez lacked standing. See Valdez, 977 P.2d at 258 (stating that “‘[t]he right against self-incrimination is personal to the witness, and the defendant in a criminal action has no standing to assert the witness’s privilege”). In the instant habeas corpus proceeding, the federal district court agreed. See Rec. doc. at 18, at 2 (stating that Mr. Avalos’s initial refusal to testify was based on his Fifth Amendment rights and that “[t]he privilege against self-incrimination is solely for the benefit of the witness and is a purely personal privilege of the witness, not for the protection of other parties”) (quoting United States v. Skolek, 474 F.2d 582, 584 (10th Cir. 1973)). Our review of the record indicates that Mr. Avalos, like Mr. Valdez, was initially charged with the murder of Mr. Ayon and related crimes. Mr. Avalos entered a guilty plea and agreed with the government to testify at Mr. Valdez’s trial. However, at the trial, Mr. Avalos’s attorney informed the court that Mr. Avalos “has told me that he does not wish to testify” and that “I don’t know if there is a privilege or not.” State Ct. Rec. vol. IX, at 138. In response, the prosecution argued that it had entered into an agreement with Mr. Avalos under which he would “take the witness stand, when subpoenaed, and testify truthfully.” Id. at 147. The prosecution further argued that by giving prior testimony at an inquisition, Mr. Avalos had waived his Fifth Amendment privilege as to the matters about which he testified. -7- Upon considering these arguments, the trial judge ruled that “Mr. Avalos should be and he is hereby ordered to testify.” State Ct. Rec. vol. X, at 10. The court reasoned that Mr. Avalos “had previously waived his privilege against self-incrimination by testifying under oath regarding his involvement in the murder of Ayon at [Mr.] Valdez’s preliminary examination.” Valdez, 977 P.2d at 257 (summarizing the trial court’s ruling). However, the court limited the scope of his testimony to “statements made to law enforcement, statements made in the inquisition[,] and any statements that may have been overheard by law enforcement.” State Ct. Rec. vol. X, at 11. After the judge ruled, Mr. Avalos again announced that he would not testify. The judge asked,, “Are you invoking any privileges at this time, or just refusing to testify?” Id. at 14 Mr. Avalos responded, “Just refusing.” Id. The judge then told Mr. Avalos’s attorney to “try to advise him that he needs to testify.” Id. at 144. The judge added, “[I]f [Mr. Avalos] continues to refuse to testify, then I will take other measures while he is in custody waiting the Court’s final sentence . . . for any contempt that he continues to . . . reflect on this Court.” Id. Upon conferring with his attorney, Mr. Avalos changed his mind. His attorney informed the court that “[Mr. Avalos] can be made to testify involuntarily and will now do so.” Id. at 152. Mr. Avalos proceeded to testify on behalf of the state, and his testimony implicated Mr. Valdez in the murder of Mr. -8- Ayon and the accompanying crimes. See Valdez, 977 P.2d at 248 (summarizing Mr. Avalos’s statements). In the instant habeas corpus proceeding, we are not entirely persuaded by the conclusion of the Kansas Supreme Court and the federal district court that Mr. Valdez lacks standing to challenge the trial judge’s decision to order Mr. Avalos to testify. As the district court noted, our precedent does state that “[w]here the witness is not the party, the party may not claim the [Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination] nor take advantage of an error of the court in overruling it” and that” [t]he party, as contrasted to the witness, simply lacks standing.” Skolek, 474 F.2d at 584. However, in more recent cases, we have further noted that a defendant may assert that his right to a fair trial has been violated by the use of testimony that has been unlawfully compelled from government witnesses. See Clanton v. Cooper, 129 F.3d 1147, 1157-58 (10th Cir. 1997) (holding that, “because the evidence is unreliable and its use offends the Constitution, a person may challenge the government’s use against him or her of a coerced confession given by another person”); see also United States ex rel. Cunningham v. DeRobertis, 719 F.2d 892, 896 (7th Cir. 1983) (“We conclude that petitioner is correct about the general proposition that a violation of another’s Fifth Amendment rights may rise to the level of a violation of his own right to a fair trial.”). -9- Nevertheless, even assuming that Mr. Valdez has standing to challenge the trial judge’s ordering Mr. Avalos to testify, we conclude that the denial of that claim is not debatable among jurists. In particular, Mr. Valdez has failed to make a colorable argument that Mr. Avalos’s testimony was improperly coerced. He has not disputed the government’s contention that Mr. Avalos had agreed to testify, nor does he offer any legal argument challenging the trial court’s ruling that Mr. Avalos had waived his Fifth Amendment rights by testifying about the murder in pretrial proceedings. See United States v. Wise, 603 F.2d 1101, 1104 (4th Cir.1979) (agreeing with the district court that a witness had “waived his [F]ifth [A]mendment privilege by entering into the plea agreement requiring him to cooperate with the government and by testifying to his participation in the [crime] when he entered his guilty plea”). Absent any such argument, we discern no support for Mr. Valdez’s contention that the introduction of Mr. Avalos’s testimony deprived Mr. Valdez of his right to a fair trial.