People v. Robinson

66 Misc. 2d 639, 323 N.Y.S.2d 573, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1671
CourtNew York Supreme Court
DecidedApril 27, 1971
StatusPublished

This text of 66 Misc. 2d 639 (People v. Robinson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Robinson, 66 Misc. 2d 639, 323 N.Y.S.2d 573, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1671 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1971).

Opinion

Frank Composto, J.

The Grand Jury of the County of Kings was conducting an investigation of the death of one Joseph Talerico in the Brooklyn House of Detention. In the course of this investigation many witnesses, including correction officers and inmates were subpoenaed to give testimony. One such witness was the defendant, a correction officer in said prison. As a consequence of his testimony the defendant was indicted for perjury.

The defendant moves to suppress his testimony before the Grand Jury on the grounds that (1) he was not advised that any testimony he gave could be used against him, (2) he was never [640]*640advised that he had a right to counsel or that if he could not afford counsel, counsel would be assigned to him and (3) he was not advised that if he gave testimony which was not true, he could be indicted for perjury. In short, the defendant claims that he was entitled to those Miranda warnings (Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436) as though he had been in the custody of the police in the accusatory stage of an investigation. It has been stipulated in lieu of a hearing that the Miranda warnings were not given to the defendant prior to or during his testimony before the Grand Jury. The defendant was not granted immunity. It is not asserted that the defendant claimed the privilege against self incrimination or refused to answer when questioned by the Grand Jury.

It is now well settled that a witness when he appears before a Grand Jury is not entitled to the warnings of the right to counsel and of his right against self incrimination and the failure to give the witness such warnings, even when he is a target of the investigation, does not bar a perjury prosecution for false testimony before the Grand Jury. (Robinson v. United States, 401 F. 2d 248 ; United States v. DiMichele, 375 F. 2d 959, cert. den. 389 U. S. 838 ; United States v. Winter, 348 F. 2d 204, cert. den. 382 U. S. 955 ; United States v. Orta, 253 F. 2d 312, cert. den. 357 U. S. 905 ; United States v. Parker, 244 F. 2d 943, cert. den. 355 U. S. 836 ; United States v. Ponti, 257 F. Supp. 925.)

The defendant’s motion to suppress his Grand Jury testimony is based on the argument that the absence of the warnings violated his constitutional rights, tainted the Grand Jury testimony and made it inadmissible for the purpose of proving on a trial for perjury, that his testimony was false. In Robinson v. United States, (supra, p. 251) the court answered that contention: “ The theory of the defendant’s contention is so elusive that it is difficult to write about it. It is a really a tour de force, rather than a reasoned conclusion. It requires, sub silentio, an assumption that there is a duty upon the government to have an observer present at all trials to give a specific warning to any witness who, it is thought, may perjure himself, that if he does perjure himself, he may be prosecuted.”

The defendant as a witness before the Grand Jury was entitled to the protection of the Fifth Amendment. (Counselman v. Hitchcock, 142 U. S. 547.) But the privilege against self incrimination relates to past criminal acts and not to future acts such as perjury which the Grand Jury charged the witness committed in the testimony which he gave. (Glickstein v. United States, 222 U. S. 139, 142.)

[641]*641In People v. Tomasello (21 N Y 2d 143) it was held that even where a witness is a “ target ” of a Grand Jury investigation, even if not a mere witness, he is not immune from prosecution for perjury if his current testimony is willfully false. The court further stated that while a “ target ” witness enjoyed the benefit of immunity forbidding the use of his compelled statements and any “ fruits ” of this testimony in a prosecution for a previously committed crime, it did not follow he was also licensed to commit perjury before the Grand Jury. If this defendant as a public employee signed a waiver of immunity, it was held in People v. Goldman (21 N Y 2d 152) that the waiver would be void under Garrity v. New Jersey (385 U. S. 493) and would not prohibit him from claiming his privilege with respect to a substantive crime. But this rule would not prevent him from being legally sworn and compelled to testify and he could be prosecuted for any perjurious testimony. The failure to warn the defendant of his right against self incrimination furnishes no insulation to the defendant as against a charge of perjury.

The case of United States v. Ponti (supra) is in point. In that case which involved a charge of perjury committed by the defendant as a witness before a Grand Jury, the court specifically rejected the same arguments advanced by this defendant. With respect to the defendant’s claim that he was not advised of his right to counsel, the court quoted from United States v. Winter (supra, pp. 208-209) where the court said: “It is one thing to say that testimony compelled from a grand jury witness who has been denied his right to counsel may not be used to secure his indictment or conviction either for the crimes being investigated or for those revealed during the course of his testimony. Exclusion of such testimony does not preclude reindictment and prosecution on the basis of untainted evidence, thus affording an opportunity to vindicate the public interest. It is an entirely different proposition, however, to say that such a witness may with absolute impunity proceed to perjure himself in the hope of avoiding the return of a True Bill. Such a rule would degrade the oath and have the effect of conferring permanent immunity on the perjurer.”

The doctrine of Miranda v. Arizona (384 U. S. 436) requires that at the time a person is taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom, he must be given the warnings. This is because of the compelling atmosphere inherent in the process of in-custody interrogation. Self incriminating evidence as to a past crime given by a person in custody without warning of his right to be silent and right to counsel is inadmissible and [642]*642it matters not that he is in custody on a charge other than the very case under investigation since the Miranda rule is not based on the reason why the person is in custody. (Mathis v. United States, 391 U. S. 1.) The defendant does not claim that he was in custody or deprived of his freedom. Rather he says that there was duress because a superior directed him to appear before the Grand Jury. As a public employee he could be compelled to give testimony with ‘ ‘

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Related

Counselman v. Hitchcock
142 U.S. 547 (Supreme Court, 1892)
Glickstein v. United States
222 U.S. 139 (Supreme Court, 1911)
In Re Groban
352 U.S. 330 (Supreme Court, 1957)
Miranda v. Arizona
384 U.S. 436 (Supreme Court, 1966)
Garrity v. New Jersey
385 U.S. 493 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Mathis v. United States
391 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1968)
United States v. Harold Parker
244 F.2d 943 (Seventh Circuit, 1957)
United States v. Juan A. Orta
253 F.2d 312 (Fifth Circuit, 1958)
United States v. Hyman Winter
348 F.2d 204 (Second Circuit, 1965)
United States v. Adam Dimichele
375 F.2d 959 (Third Circuit, 1967)
Oswald Robinson v. United States
401 F.2d 248 (Ninth Circuit, 1968)
United States v. Ponti
257 F. Supp. 925 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1966)
Parker v. United States
355 U.S. 836 (Supreme Court, 1957)
Orta v. United States
357 U.S. 905 (Supreme Court, 1958)
Winter v. United States
382 U.S. 955 (Supreme Court, 1965)
DiMichele v. United States
389 U.S. 838 (Supreme Court, 1967)

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Bluebook (online)
66 Misc. 2d 639, 323 N.Y.S.2d 573, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1671, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-robinson-nysupct-1971.