State v. Belidor

The State of Florida seeks a writ of certiorari quashing a circuit court order declining to hold the respondent in contempt for refusing to answer deposition questions as a material eyewitness in a criminal case. The State granted the respondent use immunity regarding the subject matter of the testimony sought to be elicited. After an in camera hearing with the respondent and his counsel,1 the trial court concluded that the respondent had validly asserted his Fifth Amendment rights and was not in contempt of court. Finding that this conclusion departed from the essential requirements of the…