Opinion ID: 2074459
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Applicability of Gray v. State

Text: In Gray, we considered the question of whether a trial court had discretion to determine whether a witness should be allowed to invoke the Fifth Amendment privilege in the presence of the jury. Gray, 368 Md. at 532-33, 796 A.2d at 699. In that case, we considered a limited exception to the general rule in criminal cases that a witness may not invoke the Fifth Amendment before the jury. We held that under certain circumstances, a defendant in a criminal case may call a witness at trial before the jury to invoke the privilege against self-incrimination. Id. at 564, 796 A.2d at 717. We stated as follows: We believe that a trial court has some discretion to consider permitting a defendant in a criminal case to call a witness to the stand to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege in the presence of the jury if the trial court first determines whether sufficient evidence has been presented, believable by any trier of fact, of the possible guilt of the witness the defendant wants to cause to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege before the jury. The court, in the exercise of that discretion, must consider, as well, the prejudice to the defense of not allowing the potentially exculpatory witness to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege in the presence of the jury. In opining that such discretion exists, we note that such testimony, if permitted, might be subject to the same restraints that a trial judge normally may exercise as to relevancy, repetitiveness, and the like. Id. at 558-59, 796 A.2d at 714 (emphasis added). Judge Cathell, writing for the Court, set out a general procedure to be followed: When a defendant proffers a defense that the crime was committed by another person and the defendant wants to call as a witness that person only to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination on the witness stand in the presence of the jury, the trial court, on the record, should make a determination of whether sufficient other evidence has been proffered that, if believed by any trier of fact, might link the accused witness to the commission of the crime. If the trial court finds that such sufficient evidence, linking the accused witness to the crime and believable by any trier of fact, exists that could possibly cause any trier of fact to infer that the witness might have committed the crime for which the defendant is being tried, then the trial court has the discretion to permit, and limit as normally may be appropriate, the defendant to question the witness, generally, about his involvement in the offense and have him invoke his Fifth Amendment right in the jury's presence. Id. at 564, 796 A.2d at 717. Appellant's reliance upon Gray is misplaced. Defense counsel made clear to the trial court, over and over again, that he had no intention of calling Dockery as a witness. He never asked the court for permission to question Dockery about her alleged involvement in the offense and to have her invoke her Fifth Amendment privilege before the jury. [2] There is simply no error and no Gray violation.