Commonwealth v. Nelson

I agree that appellee’s constitutional rights were violated when the trial court failed to honor his assertion of his Fifth Amendment right against compulsory self incrimination. I emphasize though, that I would not find open court to be a custodial setting warranting Miranda warnings to a prisoner witness facing a so-called “perjury trap.” Commonwealth v. Williams, 388 Pa.Super. 153, 565 A.2d 160 (1989); Commonwealth v. Melson, 383 Pa.Super. 139, 163-75, 556 A.2d 836, 848-53 (1989) (Kelly, J., dissenting). However, when, as here, the prisoner witness in open court asserts his Fifth Amendment…