State v. Showalter

Summary

The court held that the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination depends on whether compelled testimony presents a legitimate, real, and appreciable risk of incrimination, rather than on a categorical procedural deadline. That standard applies equally to convictions obtained by guilty plea and permits the privilege to continue during a nonfinal direct appeal, including an appeal from denial of a postsentence motion to withdraw a guilty plea. Because Hutto's appeal was not final when he refused to describe how he caused the victims' deaths, the court reversed the contempt order and vacated the jail sanction.