People v. Honstein.

2024 CO 34. No. 23SA271. Prosecutor Testimony—Prosecutor Disqualification—Advocate-Witness Rule.

June 3, 2024

In this original proceeding, the Supreme Court held that a defendant must demonstrate a compelling and legitimate reason to call a participating prosecutor as a witness. In this case, the Court found that Honstein lacked a compelling and legitimate reason because the testimony he sought constituted impeachment evidence and was obtainable from another witness. The Court therefore concluded that the trial court erred in ordering the prosecutor to testify, and it made the rule to show cause absolute.

The full opinion is available at https://www.courts.state.co.us/userfiles/file/Court_Probation/Supreme_Court/Opinions/2023/23SA271.pdf.