In re Criminal Investigation No. 1-162

GILBERT, Chief Judge.

Immunity is a legal innoculation against prosecution. When permitted it allows a prosecutor to do for a witness what Dr. Jonas Salk did for mankind — protect him. Unlike Dr. Salk, the prosecutor extracts a quid pro quo — an amulet for an appellation.

Maryland prosecutors, except for a few specific statutorily created instances, may not immunize witnesses. Despite a number of legislative attempts to vest immunization authority in prosecutors, the General Assembly has turned a deaf ear to the plaint.1

As Judge Moylan noted in Butler v. State, 55 Md.App. 409, 419, 462 A.2d…