State v. Green

¶ 43. SHIRLEY S. ABRAHAMSON, CHIEF JUSTICE

(concurring). In the present case, the defendant argues that the State violated the circuit court's witness "sequestration" order when the prosecutor communicated with a State's witness during a break in that witness's trial testimony.1 If the attorney violated the court order, the error was harmless.

¶ 44. I write separately to urge that exclusion and separation orders be stated with particularity to avoid misunderstandings.2 Although the practice of limiting a witness's access to other witnesses can be traced to English and Germanic law,3 many open…