Privilege not to testify

On Apr 23, 7:16 am, Robert <popmu...@att.net> wrote:
> Doesn't a witness to a murder have a legal obligation to testify to
> that murder?  I'm thinking of the case of "Busta Rhymes" who by all
> accounts was standing by as his bodyguard was murdered..

No.   He could invoke his Constitutional right against self-incrimination ("take the Fifth") unless he was granted immunity in which case he could be compelled to take the stand as a nonparty witness.  Whether the prosecutor would want to rely on his testimony in such circumstances is another question.

And no, there is no affirmative obligation to come forward with relevant testimony; there was another thread on that topic here on MLM recently.  A whole neighborhood may have witnessed a shooting, but those witnesses commit no crime by failing to come forward, as they often do if intimidated by the perp or by the general atmosphere of violence.  OTOH if the prosecutor _does_ subpoena a witness to testify, AFAIK the only legal basis he has to avoid telling what he knows is some form of evidentiary privilege, which would include (frex) the privilege against self-incrimination, the spousal privilege recognized in some states, the various professional-client privileges (doctor, lawyer, priest etc.) or (for Karl Rove and his ilk) a claim of "executive privilege" which may or may not hold water.   We'll have to see what SCOTUS says if Congress and the Pres get in a shoving match over this.

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