Opinion ID: 1110457
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Testimony of John Lee James.

Text: John Lee James, the co-defendant whose trial had been severed, was called as a witness by the State. Before he was questioned, the trial judge explained his rights against self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The trial judge advised him that he had a right to refuse to answer any question that would tend to incriminate him. The witness' own attorney was present in the courtroom for consultation with his client as to the incriminatory nature of the questions propounded. The defendant reserved Bill of Exceptions No. 9 to this procedure, based on the following grounds: (1) It allowed the witness' attorney to invoke the privilege against self-incrimination for the client, although the privilege is personal to the witness. See State v. Brown, 221 La. 394, 59 So.2d 431 (1952). (2) The procedure failed to take into account the rule that when the witness has answered incriminating questions, he opens the door to a full disclosure. (3) The procedure inhibits effective cross-examination by the defense. We find nothing in the procedure itself that violates the defendant's rights. Since the witness was also charged with the crime, it was within the court's discretion to allow him to consult with his attorney during interrogation. The advice from his attorney did not destroy the personal nature of the privilege. Nor did the procedure foreclose a later claim that the privilege had been waived as to certain facts by a prior disclosure. See Rogers v. United States, 340 U.S. 367, 71 S.Ct. 438, 95 L.Ed. 344 (1951). The procedure likewise did not inhibit cross-examination, because the judge retained the right to rule on specific questions propounded by defense counsel. The procedure adopted by the trial judge finds support in State v. Gambino, 221 La. 1039, 61 So.2d 732 (1952), where we held that a party charged jointly with the defendant, but not on trial, could be called as a witness since he could claim his privilege against self-incrimination when asked a specific question that tended to incriminate him. Defendant reserved Bill of Exceptions No. 10 under the following circumstances. James testified that he owned a blue Thunderbird convertible with license number 91B790; that on the morning of July 20, 1969, he and Edward Pierre drove in his Thunderbird to Fillmore and Elysian Fields; that at this time Pierre was wearing a Panama type hat and sunglasses; that at about 10:45 a. m. the witness went into the drugstore at 5215 Elysian Fields and bought some cigarettes; that, after he returned, Pierre left the car and returned in about ten minutes from the direction of the drugstore; that at no time did he see Pierre in possession of a gun; and that on July 21 the police arrested him. Defense counsel cross-examined James extensively. Upon an objection of self-incrimination, James refused to say how much of his newspaper he had read during the time Pierre was away from the car. The trial judge upheld the witness' refusal to answer the question on his claim of self-incrimination. We are doubtful that the question can properly be classified as incriminating. Nonetheless, the ruling of trial judge was correct, because the information sought was irrelevant. On cross-examination, James had already stated that Pierre was gone from the car from 5 to 15 minutes.