Opinion ID: 1664552
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: ImmunityDefense Witness

Text: Prior to trial, the State granted Rebecca Winemiller, a principal in FSA, immunity from prosecution in exchange for her cooperation with the State in this case. Pursuant to that grant of immunity, Ms. Winemiller gave a statement to the Little Rock Police Department concerning the circumstances surrounding a loan of $150,000 by FSA to Ink Jet at the request of Mr. Rutherford. At trial, the State did not call Ms. Winemiller as a witness. However, Mr. Hale subpoenaed her and sought to call her as a defense witness at trial, whereupon Ms. Winemiller asserted her constitutional right against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment. After hearing arguments from both sides, the trial court ruled that she would be allowed to assert her Fifth Amendment rights and refused to compel her to testify. The trial court further found that the State's grant of immunity to Ms. Winemiller would not serve to protect her if she were called as a defense witness. On appeal, Mr. Hale argues that the trial court erred in so holding and that the trial court's ruling violated his constitutional rights to due process, equal protection, a fair trial, and compulsory process. Mr. Hale's basic contention is that the trial court should have compelled Ms. Winemiller to testify by holding that the State's grant of immunity to the witness also extended to the defense's use of her testimony. We disagree. In Fears v. State, 262 Ark. 355, 556 S.W.2d 659 (1977), the defendant asked the trial court to grant, or require the State to grant, immunity to a defense witness. The trial court refused to do so, and this court affirmed, stating: The granting of immunity is not a constitutional right but only one authorized by statute.... [T]he granting of immunity is within the discretion of the prosecutor when in his judgment such a grant of immunity is necessary to the public interest. The purpose of immunity statutes is to aid the prosecution in apprehending criminals by inducing witnesses to testify for the State. Id.; See Ark.Code Ann. § 16-43-605 (Repl.1999). Likewise, in Williams v. State, 329 Ark. 8, 946 S.W.2d 678 (1997), a criminal defendant argued that his due process and equal protection rights were violated by the trial court's refusal to grant immunity to a defense witness. We restated our holding in Fears v. State , and affirmed. Our holdings in Williams v. State and Fears v. State were recently reaffirmed in Tabor v. State, 333 Ark. 429, 971 S.W.2d 227 (1998). Because immunity statutes are for the purpose of inducing witnesses to testify for the State, we cannot say that the trial court violated Mr. Hale's constitutional rights by refusing to grant Ms. Winemiller immunity as a defense witness.