Opinion ID: 2435258
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Denton's Fifth Amendment Claims

Text: Denton had the right to assert his Fifth Amendment privilege to avoid civil discovery if he reasonably feared the answers would tend to incriminate him. See Wehling v. Columbia Broadcasting Sys., 608 F.2d 1084, 1086 (5th Cir.1979) (Wehling was under no obligation to disclose to CBS information he reasonably believed might be used against him as an accused in a criminal prosecution.). Nevertheless, the resulting use of the privilege was an offensive use. Denton used a privilege to protect information that was privileged, but also essential to the defense. Republic Ins. Co. v. Davis, 856 S.W.2d 158, 161 (Tex.1993). The Fifth Amendment can be asserted in both civil and criminal trials wherever the answer might tend to subject to criminal responsibility him who gives it. McCarthy v. Arndstein, 266 U.S. 34, 40, 45 S.Ct. 16, 17, 69 L.Ed. 158 (1924); see Kastigar v. United States, 406 U.S. 441, 444, 92 S.Ct. 1653, 1656, 32 L.Ed.2d 212 (1972). Generally, the exercise of the privilege should not be penalized. Spevack v. Klein, 385 U.S. 511, 515, 87 S.Ct. 625, 628, 17 L.Ed.2d 574 (1967); Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 7, 84 S.Ct. 1489, 1493, 12 L.Ed.2d 653 (1964). The importance of the freedom from self-incrimination notwithstanding, the role of the Fifth Amendment in civil cases when asserted by a plaintiff presents certain problems not found when the privilege is asserted in a criminal context. [3] Because of the difference between the civil and criminal context, the United States Supreme Court has allowed juries in civil cases to make negative inferences based upon the assertion of the privilege. Baxter v. Palmigiano, 425 U.S. 308, 318, 96 S.Ct. 1551, 1558, 47 L.Ed.2d 810 (1976). Also, when a plaintiff invokes the privilege against self-incrimination, the trial court can subsequently prohibit the plaintiff from introducing evidence on the subject, and such an act of judicial discretion does not constitute penalizing the plaintiff's use of the privilege. See Gutierrez-Rodriguez v. Cartagena, 882 F.2d 553, 576 (1st Cir.1989). The rule against penalizing the use of the privilege does not prohibit a trial court from taking acts to ensure that the civil proceeding remains fair. A plaintiff who uses the privilege to protect relevant information from a defendant use[s] his Fifth Amendment shield as a sword. Wehling, 608 F.2d at 1087. In other words: The plaintiff ... obviously had the right to claim the privilege, but he cannot eat his cake and have it too. The defendant also has certain rights, one of which is to defend this lawsuit and to develop an affirmative defense which may well destroy the plaintiff's right to maintain his action. Levine v. Bornstein, 13 Misc.2d 161, 174 N.Y.S.2d 574, 578 (N.Y.Sup.Ct.1958), aff'd, 7 A.D.2d 995, 183 N.Y.S.2d 868, aff'd, 6 N.Y.2d 892, 190 N.Y.S.2d 702, 160 N.E.2d 921 (1959). Therefore, at this point we borrow from the offensive use line of cases to determine what type of conduct is susceptible to sanction.