*In a criminal matter, unless the state makes out a prima facie case of guilt, no unfavorable inference may be drawn from the failure of the accused to testify. 147 C. 502. The fact that one or more persons jointly charged with the commission of a crime pleaded guilty is not admissible, on the trial of another person so charged, to establish that the crime was committed; a plea of guilty is, in effect, a confession of guilt which, having been made by one of those charged with the crime, can be no more than hearsay as to another who is so charged; the state must prove the whole case against any accused; sequestration of witnesses is in discretion of trial court; request must be seasonably made, must be specific and supported by sound reasons, and it must appear probable that, if witnesses were to hear one another's testimony, they would attempt falsely to give corroborating testimony; if these conditions are met, a denial of the motion could constitute an abuse of discretion; it is within the discretion of the court to grant or deny defendant the right to inspect statements of the state's witnesses in the possession of the state's attorney. 150 C. 195.
The corpus delicti, that is, that the crime charged has been committed by someone, cannot be established by the extrajudicial confession of defendant unsupported by corroborative evidence. 22 CS 385; 23 CS 420. In a criminal case, the accused cannot compel the prosecution to produce documents which he himself has made; facts sought to be disclosed must be shown to be exclusively within the knowledge of the state. Id., 41. Proof of guilt must exclude not every possible, but every reasonable, supposition of the innocence of the accused. Id., 299. In a criminal case, the state may rest its case upon evidence sufficient to make out prima facie case; prima facie case is made out when the evidence indicates to a reasonable person such a strong probability of guilt that a denial or explanation by defendant is reasonably called for; when the state has made out a prima facie case of guilt, an adverse inference may be drawn from the failure of defendant to testify in his own behalf. Id., 412. Information disclosed to a prosecuting attorney to enable him to perform the duties of his office is privileged on grounds of public policy, and the adverse party has no right to demand its production. Id., 459. If accused has reason to believe witness under examination had made prior statement which was contradictory to his testimony, accused may request statement to be produced for examination by court; further use of such statement rests in discretion of court. 24 CS 377.
