People v. Bassage

Defendant was charged with perjury committed in a court proceeding for a capital crime, MCL 750.422. Defendant moved to dismiss the charge, arguing that when called by the prosecution as a witness in an underlying murder case, he had to choose between (1) incriminating himself for filing a false police report or (2) lying. Faced with this dilemma, and because he was never advised of his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, defendant argued that his testimony was obtained in violation of the United States Constitution and could not be used against him in his perjury trial.…