SPIELBAUER v.
Filed
CERTIFIED FOR PUBLICATION
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF
SIXTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
THOMAS SPIELBAUER, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA et al., Defendants and Respondents. | H029345 ( Super. |
STORY CONTINUED FROM PART I……
D. Conflation of Federal Protections in
The relatively straightforward analysis set forth above conflicts with several California decisions that have failed to note the dual nature of the federal protection and the need for an offer or grant of immunity as a predicate for lawfully compelled answers. Defendant contends that these cases permitted it to compel answers from plaintiff without such a grant, so long as it told him that his answers could not be used to incriminate him. Defendant cites Kelly v. State Personnel Board (1979) 94 Cal.App.3d 905, 911 (Kelly), where a criminalist challenged his dismissal from state service for failing to comply with his employer's request for information concerning his alleged mishandling of controlled substances.[1] He contended that the dismissal violated his rights to free association and privacy. (Kelly, supra, 94 Cal.App.3d at p. 911.) After acknowledging that it was â€