People v. Reinhart

The defendant was sworn and examined as a witness in his own behalf, and, on cross-examination, he was asked whether he had not been convicted of certain offenses. He now insists that it was erroneous for the Court to compel him to answer those questions. We held in Clark v. Reese (35 Cal. 96), that when a party to the action becomes a witness in his own behalf, he drops, for the time being, the character of a party, and takes on that of a witness, and that his privilege is no greater than that of any other witness. He may refuse to answer the question whether he has been previously convicted…