State v. Akins, 423 P.3d 1026

In October 2015 Kimberly Vezina died in Spokane Valley, WA of combined drug toxicity; her body was later transported to Idaho and dumped in Lake Coeur d’Alene.
Laura Akins transported the wrapped body in an SUV to Idaho and disposed of it; three weeks later fishermen found the body and notified authorities.
Idaho charged Akins with failure to notify of a death (I.C. § 19-4301A(3), felony for intent to prevent discovery of manner of death) and destruction of evidence (I.C. § 18-2603).
Akins moved to dismiss the § 19-4301A charge, asserting it would compel self-incriminating testimonial disclosures in violation of the Fifth Amendment.
The district court granted dismissal; the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed, holding that as applied to Akins the statute would compel testimonial admissions that create a substantial hazard of self-incrimination.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether § 19-4301A’s reporting requirement compels testimonial evidence	State: statute only requires notice of death and location, not testimonial admissions	Akins: statute’s silence and preservation duties force identifying, narrative disclosures tied to criminal conduct	Court: statutory compliance can require testimonial, personally identifying admissions; Fifth Amendment protection applies as pleaded
Whether compelling reporting creates a substantial hazard of self-incrimination	State: statute serves regulatory/coroner purposes and applies generally, so no substantial hazard	Akins: reporting here would have admitted cross‑border transport and disposal, admitting elements of other crimes (e.g., destruction of evidence)	Court: as applied to these facts, reporting would have forced admissions tantamount to confessing another crime — prosecution violates the Fifth Amendment

Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1 (privilege against self-incrimination incorporated against the states)
Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757 (privilege protects testimonial or communicative evidence)
Doe v. United States, 487 U.S. 201 (testimonial communication must convey factual assertion)
Kastigar v. United States, 406 U.S. 441 (scope of Fifth Amendment protection against compelled testimony)
Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control Bd., 382 U.S. 70 (compelled registration requiring admissions creates hazard of prosecution)
California v. Byers, 402 U.S. 424 (regulatory, generally applicable reporting statutes less likely to implicate Fifth Amendment)
Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial Dist. Court, 542 U.S. 177 (statutory identity disclosures in investigatory stops may not violate Fifth Amendment)
Sullivan v. United States, 274 U.S. 259 (refusal to file neutral tax return not protected by Fifth Amendment)
Marchetti v. United States, 390 U.S. 39 (statutory reporting that targets criminal activity implicates Fifth Amendment)