Court Opinion

ID: 9661518
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 22:41:03.524553+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:29.439184
License: Public Domain

CLINTON, Judge,
dissenting.
Tension between the right of an accused to compulsory process and the right of a witness to claim the privilege, alluded to in note 2 of the majority opinion, is not a problem in the type of cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States which the majority cites and discusses. In each the party seeking protection of the privilege had been haled to a grand jury or court of inquiry; upon declining to answer questions deemed incriminating, the inquisitor caused the party to be brought before the court for appropriate proceedings. Whether it held for or against the witness then depended on what the court found on the issue of “testimonial waiver.” Thus, the Supreme Court did not confront, and in Rogers v. United States, 340 U.S. 367, 71 S.Ct. 438, 99 L.Ed.2d 344 (1951) expressly reserved, “the problems arising out of possible abuse of the privilege against self-incrimination in adversary proceedings,” id., U.S., at 373 n. 15, S.Ct., at 442 n. 15. Accordingly, the majority begs rationale in excessively relying on opinions of the Supreme Court written in what the Supreme Court itself recognizes is a quite different context.
The decision relied on by the Dallas Court of Appeals and now by this Court begins its discussion of the problem as follows:
“There is no doubt that a waiver of the fifth amendment’s privilege against self-incrimination may, in an appropriate case, be inferred from a witness’ prior statements with respect to the subject matter of the case, without any inquiry into whether the witness, when he made the statements, actually knew of the existence of the privilege and consciously chose to waive it [Citation omitted].”1
Klein v. Harris, 667 F.2d 274, 287 (CA2 1981). Thus, had Janice Joiner first testified before the jury as she did before the court, the inquiry made by the trial court would have been improper and its related *698actions, according to the Klein Court, “indefensible.” 2 Id., 280,3 289.4
Beyond that though, the Court is about to approve an intolerable infringement as well on the right of an accused to compulsory process as on the right of the State to claim “testimonial waiver” by a putative witness in similar circumstances. Since, unlike federal courts, this Court insists that a party “has no right to have a witness assert or invoke his Fifth Amendment in the presence of the jury,” Ellis v. State, 683 S.W.2d 379 (Tex.Cr.App., No. 0143-83, delivered September 19, 1984) and cases cited therein, there has developed a nearly uniform practice for a trial judge to conduct a voir dire examination outside the presence of the jury to determine whether the proffered witness does indeed intend to invoke the privilege. To adopt for a such a hearing before the court the notion the Second Circuit applied where a recalcitrant witness had earlier testified before a jury to facts such that a waiver was inferred means that “testimonial waiver” cannot be found — the prior statements made by the witness will never create “a significant likelihood that the finder of fact will be left with and prone to rely on a distorted view of the truth,” Klein, supra, at 287.5
The leading decision on the subject in this jurisdiction is Ex Parte Park, 37 Tex.Cr.R. 590, 40 S.W. 900, 66 Am.St.Rep. 835 (1897). Ex parte Adams, 76 Tex.Cr.R. 277, 174 S.W. 1044 (1915); Ray, Texas Law of Evidence (Third Edition) § 476, 1 Texas Practice 465, n. 89.6 Initially Park had been jointly indicted with two others, but after trial got underway the case against him was dismissed on motion by the State. The State then called Park to the witness stand and propounded a question that Park declined to answer on the ground that a truthful answer would tend to incriminate him of an offense against the law of this State. The trial judge held he was bound to answer, and upon his continued refusal found Park in contempt and remanded him to custody until he answered the question. In ordering Park discharged from custody, since the issue was not in the case, the Court dealt with “testimonial waiver” by way of explaining that “the objection of privilege — that is, that the answer to the question would tend to incriminate him— must be made at the threshold,” so that when a witness “voluntarily states a part of the testimony, he waives his right, and cannot afterwards stand on his privilege.” Ex parte Park, supra, 40 S.W. at 302.7
*699It is axiomatic that “in refusing to answer a question on the ground that the answer would tend to incriminate him, the witness is exercising a constitutional right personal to himself,” Glasper v. State, 486 S.W.2d 350, 352 (Tex.Cr.App.1972), and “only the witness can take advantage of the right to decline to testify on [that] ground,” Ex parte Miers, 124 Tex.Cr.R. 592, 64 S.W.2d 778, 780 (1933). Though Joiner was fully advised and indicated to the trial judge that she would “rather take the Fifth,” without any doubt she overrode the express advice from her own lawyer that “you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. You can invoke the Fifth Amendment,” when she then voluntarily stated, “I will answer that [question],” and proceeded to do so. Just as obviously her answer “related part of the facts of the transaction,” Draper v. State, 596 S.W.2d 855, 857 (Tex.Cr.App.1980), and was an incriminating admission that she was present in the house — in the living room “fixing to answer the door” — since presence is an evi-dentiary factor in possession cases. Factually Joiner waived the privilege “by exercising [her] option of answering,” Blackmon v. State, supra, at 501, quoting approvingly Wigmore on Evidence (McNaughton Revision) § 2276(b)(1). See Ex parte Miers, supra, 64 S.W.2d at 780.
So long as this Court sanctions and upholds the practice that trial judges conduct a voir dire examination to determine whether a putative witness will claim the privilege, it should make clear to them that there is more to the inquiry than whether one would “rather take the Fifth” instead of testifying before the jury. It is simply not correct to say to such a putative witness, “You certainly have that right, under the Constitution, to do so.” The privilege is not against testifying at all. It is against testifying to one or more facts beyond the threshold of a particular “transaction” that may tend to incriminate the witness. Blackmon v. State, supra, at 502.
Accordingly, a matter of privilege is presented by some character of examination to which a response is sought. During the inquiry should a putative witness respond without claiming it, the privilege is waived in that particular, and there is nothing for the trial court to rule on; but should the privilege be claimed the trial court must decide whether to sustain it, and then the witness is left free to answer or not. Ray, op cit, §§ 473 and 476, 1 Texas Practice 460, 464-465.
However, once a putative witness answers with an incriminating fact and an answer of a further fact is sought, should the privilege then be claimed, the issue becomes whether stating the first fact waived the privilege as to the second. Blackmon and Draper, both supra. That issue was reached in the voir dire examination conducted by the trial court in this case, but the trial judge did not properly resolve it. Instead, the judge announced that “it will be the ruling of the Court that the mere fact that she did answer the single question a few moments ago did not represent a knowing and voluntary waiver of her rights against self-incrimination...” Such is not the law under the very decision relied on by the majority; the prior statement being both “testimonial” and “incriminating,” Joiner “plainly [had] reason to know... that [it] may be interpreted as a waiver of [her] fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination [and] [s]uch a witness is not treated unfairly, then, if a court ultimately interprets the statements in this fashion.” Klein v. Harris, supra, at 288.
In my judgment, the majority grievously errs in giving its approval to the notion *700that a witness may successfully plead ignorance of the law “that by answering she might be giving up her right not to incriminate herself,” and then reclaim the privilege she had so affirmatively and voluntarily expressly waived in the face of contrary advice from her own counsel.
I dissent.

. All emphasis is added by the writer of this opinion unless otherwise indicated.

. That is not to say that the writer shares such view, but to make the point that great care must be taken in treating this sensitive matter of constitutional dimension. Klein, at 289.

. After the defense recalled the witness to the stand, "the judge advised [him] that he had the right to remain silent, and directed [his] attorney to stand at his client’s side in order to advise him as to each question asked by [defense] counsel... [and when it was invoked] allowed [the witness] to assert the privilege. Moreover, he did not strike [his] earlier testimony on this subject."

. "Here, the trial judge did not direct [the witness], upon being recalled to the stand, to answer the questions posed by [the defense]; nor did he threaten [him] with being held in contempt once he refused to answer those questions. Instead, the trial judge actively encouraged [the witness] not to answer the questions put to him... [and] failed to strike [his] prior testimony.”

. It occurs to me that the rare occasion for operation of the Klein formulation will be when a naive or unsophisticated witness makes "testimonial” and "incriminating" statements before the trier of fact, and thereafter attempts to invoke the privilege against self-incrimination. To thus restrict availability of relevant testimony to witnesses who do not know or are careless about asserting the privilege surely impedes our vaunted judicial search for the truth.

. Notwithstanding earlier praises accorded it by the Court and Professor Ray, this Court has cautioned against taking its “broad statements. .. out of the context of that case.” Blackmon v. State, 642 S.W.2d 499, 501 (Tex.Cr.App.1982).

. In the days of Park and Adams, of course, all trials were to a jury and a witness might be called to the stand by one party or the other, only to hear him decline to testify on the ground that testimony sought would tend to incriminate him. Though the Court came to criticize that ploy consistently, see, e.g., McClure v. State, 95 Tex.Cr.R. 53, 251 S.W. 1099, 1102-1103 (1925); Rice v. State, 121 Tex.Cr.R. 68, 51 S.W.2d 364 (1932); Rice v. State, 123 Tex.Cr.R. 326, 59 S.W.2d 119 (1933), disdaining such remedial measures as an attempt to withdraw *699offensive questions from consideration by the jury, Washburn v. State, 299 S.W.2d 706, 709, 710 (Tex.Cr.App.1956), its own remedy was to reverse the judgment. But see Mathis v. State, 469 S.W.2d 796, 799 (Tex.Cr.App.1970). In Federal courts an appropriate instruction to the jury was seen as a prophylactic endeavor. United States v. Maloney, 262 F.2d 535, 538 (CA2 1959). Apparently conducting a voir dire examination never occurred to appellate judges or trial judges nor was one requested by an opposing party until more recent times. Thus the dearth of authority touching the instant situation.