Is evidence that a witness is afraid to testify admissible?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from The People v. Hardy, C061357, No. 07F01364 (Cal. App. 2010):

"'Evidence a witness is afraid to testify is relevant to the credibility of that witness and is therefore admissible. [Citations.] Testimony a witness is fearful of retaliation similarly relates to that witness's credibility and is also admissible. [Citation.] It is not necessary to show threats against the witness were made by the defendant personally, or the witness's fear of retaliation is directly linked to the defendant for the evidence to be admissible.'" (People v. Olguin (1994) 31 Cal.App.4th 1355, 1368.) "A witness who testifies despite fear of recrimination of any kind by anyone is more credible because of his or her personal stake in the testimony. Just as the fact a witness expects to receive something in exchange for testimony may be considered in evaluating his or her credibility [citation], the fact a witness is testifying despite fear of recrimination is important to fully evaluating his or her credibility. For this purpose, it matters not the source of the threat. It could come from a friend of the defendant, or it could come from a stranger who merely approves of the defendant's conduct or disapproves of the victim. It could come from a person who perceives a social or political agenda to have been advanced by the defendant's actions. It could come from a member of the witness's profession, religion, or subculture, who disapproves of the witness's involvement for some reason. It could come from a zealot of any stripe, large groups of whom seem ready to rally

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