>IANAL but this seems like a big "well, duh" concept to me. What if Chen had knifed the iPhone thief in an alley, rather than paying him $5,000? Would the shiel

>IANAL but this seems like a big "well, duh" concept to me. What if Chen had knifed the iPhone thief in an alley, rather than paying him $5,000? Would the shield laws be relevant then? Yes, the way the law is written (which is how it usually has to be interpreted). They're not to protect Chen. The people whom he's talked to STILL need protection if he happens to be a suspect in a stabbing. If the legislature of California wants to FIX the law, then by all means do so. But the law as written doesn't have that feature. Exceptions USUALLY are only granted to make criminal based laws more lenient, not usually less.