People v. Collins

Defendant Earnest Collins was convicted following a bench trial of one count of attempted robbery and one count of possession of a stolen motor vehicle and was sentenced to a prison term of nine years. Defendant contends on appeal that: (1) the trial court violated his sixth amendment right to confront witnesses by (a) allowing the State to invoke the fifth amendment rights of the victim, Emmett Harrington, and (b) restricting defense counsel’s cross-examination of Harrington about his prior convictions; (2) the State failed to prove he committed attempted robbery beyond a reasonable doubt;…