State v. Blake

The defendant’s basic complaint is that his conviction on the first burglary rested in part on the testimony of Smokovich, who testified following a grant of immunity on motion of the state pursuant to sec. 885.34, Stats. 1 The claim that a fair trial was thus denied rests upon three contentions: one hinted at, one clearly implied, and one specifically spelled out.

Constitutionality.

Defendant suggests that there may be a constitutional flaw in permitting a trial court to grant immunity and order a witness to testify. There is no basis for such suggestion. The general rule is that,a witness…