Ex parte Thompson - CCA
The court held that it did violate the defendant's due process rights to hold the defendant in criminal contempt for each of the defendant's thirteen refusals to answer. Due process only allows one conviction for contempt. Where a witness indicates outside the jury's presence that he will not answer any questions and afterwards consistently maintains that position before the jury by refusing to answer any questions only one contempt occurs. The prosecution can not make the witness liable for multiple contempts by putting the witness on the stand and getting him to refuse to answer multiple questions after the witness has previously indicated he will not testify. Ex parte Thompson, AP-75,720.
