Perez v. State

SCHEB, Judge.

Defendant, Osvaldo Perez, appeals his conviction and sentence for manslaughter. He argues the trial court erred in allowing a witness to assert his fifth-amendment privilege against self-incrimination and to refuse to answer certain questions. We find his argument meritorious and reverse.

The state charged defendant with second-degree murder in the June 12, 1983, stabbing death of Juan Marchan at a tavern in Dade City. At his jury trial a number of witnesses testified that five or six people, including the defendant and Mar-chan, were involved in a fight outside the bar. None of…