Court Opinion

ID: 9713595
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 05:18:37.764474+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:19.459432
License: Public Domain

STATON, Judge,
dissenting.
I dissent. State ex rel. Pollard v. Marion Criminal Court (1975), 263 Ind. 236, 329 N.E.2d 573 requires that every grand jury witness be advised of the general nature of the inquiry. Furthermore, if the witness is the target of the inquiry, as Snyder unquestionably was, he must be advised of his vulnerability as a target and given an opportunity to consult with legal counsel. Otherwise, the witness would not be able to adequately evaluate and protect his constitutional rights against self-incrimination. Since Snyder was not informed that he was a target and was not given an opportunity to consult with legal counsel, the trial court committed error by not dismissing the indictment.
The privilege against self-incrimination has been and must be jealously protected by the judiciary. This is especially true in the context of the grand jury system — a system where the potential for abuse of constitutional rights exists. “To apply the privilege narrowly or begrudgingly — to treat it as an historical relic, at most merely to be tolerated — is to ignore its development and purpose.” Quinn v. United States (1955), 349 U.S. 155, 75 S.Ct. 668, 99 L.Ed. 964.
The majority opinion nevertheless dismisses the constitutional infirmities that exist in the case at bar as harmless error because, in the words of the majority, “it conclusively appears in the record that Snyder was . . . aware that he was the subject under investigation.” In doing so, the majority relies exclusively on the following facts: (1) Snyder had requested a grand jury investigation; (2) Snyder was advised at the hearing of several of his constitutional rights; and (3) Snyder stated at the hearing that he wanted to tell the whole truth and that his testimony was voluntary and without force or duress from anyone.
Of those sets of facts, only the first is even remotely relevant to the issue of whether Snyder was aware that he was the target of the investigation. The fact that an individual requested a grand jury investigation does not “conclusively” establish that that individual knew that he was the target of the investigation.
Snyder was not informed and was not aware that he was the target of the grand jury investigation. He was not given an opportunity to consult legal counsel before giving his testimony.
I would reverse.