In Re Witherspoon

Opinion

TROTTER, P. J.

Petitioner was adjudged in contempt after testifying as a witness against himself over his Fifth Amendment objection. In a dissolution action, petitioner’s wife cited him for contempt, alleging wilful failure to pay court-ordered child support. At the hearing, petitioner was represented by court-appointed counsel, a deputy public defender. Wife’s counsel attempted to call petitioner as a witness in her case-in-chief. Initially, the trial court sustained petitioner’s assertion of a Fifth Amendment privilege not to incriminate himself. Nevertheless, wife’s counsel persisted…