State Prosecutor Asks for Witness Immunity Powers

The Maryland General Assembly could help efforts to fight public corruption by passing a measure to allow state prosecutors to grant immunity to witnesses so their testimony could not be used against them, the state prosecutor wrote in a report released Wednesday.

State Prosecutor Emmet Davitt included the comments in a report on his office for the past four fiscal years. Davitt noted that an independent committee chaired by a former Court of Appeals judge recommended the state prosecutor be given the authority to seek court-ordered "use immunity" for witnesses, as county prosecutors currently can for witnesses who appear before a grand jury or at a trial.

"There was no opposition raised by any person, group or organization. Yet, the General Assembly to date has not enacted such a measure," Davitt wrote.
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