Court Opinion

ID: 9789788
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 01:41:18.851417+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:24.427479
License: Public Domain

Lockett, J.,
concurring and dissenting: I agree with the majority’s finding that there is substantial competent evidence to support the trial court’s finding that Taylor understood he had a right to testify. I disagree with the majority’s finding that there is a danger that by asking a defendant if he or she is aware of the right to testify, a court may inadvertently influence a defendant to waive the equally fundamental right against self- incrimination. I also disagree with the conclusion that pursuant to State v. McKinney, 221 Kan. 691, 561 P.2d 432 (1977), such an inquiry by the trial court would be inappropriate.
The right to testify is a basic right given all parties. The right not to testify is a right limited to those whose testimony would incriminate them. Individuals who have been charged with a crime have a number of fundamental constitutional rights. Basic constitutional rights can be relinquished only by the defendant; relinquishment of such a right must be intentional, and to be intentional it must be known to the one who gives up the right.
The McKinney court actually held, “Here the accused after full consultation with his counsel decided not to testify in his own behalf. No inquiry from the trial court was necessary or appropriate.” 221 Kan. at 695. If the trial judge had merely asked Taylor, outside the presence of the jury, if he had discussed his right to testify with his attorney, there would have been no .basis for this appeal or the requirement of an additional hearing to determine if Taylor’s attorney had apprised him of that right. The most troubling aspect of the majority opinion is its finding that such an inquiry by a judge is inappropriate in this circumstance but appropriate where a statute requires the judge to ask if the defendant is waiving the right. The majority has not cited a single instance where a Kansas judge has inadvertently influenced a defendant to waive any right by asking a defendant if he or she had discussed that right with counsel.