In Re Brenda M.

Introduction

Marcelino M. appeals from the juvenile court’s order sustaining the allegations of a petition under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 (all further statutory references are to the Welfare and Institutions Code unless otherwise specified) and declaring his two children, Brenda M. and Brandon M., dependents of the court. He contends the juvenile court committed prejudicial error by precluding him from presenting evidence or cross-examining witnesses as a sanction for invoking his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination at the jurisdiction/disposition hearing.

In the recent case of In re Mark A. (2007) 156 Cal.App.4th 1124 [ 68 Cal.Rptr.3d 106 ] (Mark A.), a panel of this court concluded the juvenile court erred by striking testimony as a sanction for the father’s invocation of the Fifth Amendment and refusal to testify at a jurisdiction and disposition hearing. The panel held the immunity provided by section 355.1, subdivision (f) is more limited than the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and therefore did not justify compelling the father to testify after asserting his Fifth Amendment rights. (Mark A., supra, 156…