Self Incrimination

The Supreme Court narrowed the right against self-incrimination Tuesday, ruling that police and government investigators can force an unwilling person to talk, as long as those admissions are not used to prosecute them. The 6-3 opinion undercuts the well-known Miranda warnings, in which officers tell individuals of their right to remain silent. It appears to allow more aggressive police questioning of reluctant witnesses in the hope of obtaining evidence.

In a move that surprised the election fraud trial of GOP aide Rhonda Carmony, decoy Democrat Laurie Campbell told the court Tuesday that she is balking at testifying because she fears telling the truth will lead to her prosecution.

A former aide to Assemblyman Curt Pringle testified Wednesday that GOP campaign aide Rhonda Carmony asked him to circulate nominating petitions as part of a Republican scheme to place a spoiler Democratic candidate on the ballot in a crucial 1995 election.

Faced with the threat of jail himself, the state's star witness in an extortion-double murder case refused to testify Thursday, throwing the prosecution of the high-profile crime into disarray. Ara Karapetian, the alleged victim of a "shakedown" robbery in which two people were killed Dec. 17, invoked his right against self-incrimination on the advice of his lawyer.

An attorney for the man accused of killing former Hermosa Beach model Linda Sobek has asked a judge to throw out cornerstone evidence, alleging that it was coerced by detectives who denied the suspect's repeated requests to be represented by counsel during questioning. If granted, the motion could greatly alter the high-profile murder case against freelance photographer Charles Rathbun. The 38-year-old Hollywood man has been held without bail since his arrest Nov.