Can a prosecutor argue that a defendant's failure to testify is a violation of the Griffin Rule of Civil Procedure?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Font, 35 Cal.App.4th 50, 41 Cal.Rptr.2d 281 (Cal. App. 1995):

[35 Cal.App.4th 57] "Under the rule in Griffin, error is committed whenever the prosecutor or the court comments, either directly or indirectly, upon defendant's failure to testify. It is well established, however, that the rule prohibiting comment on defendant's failure to testify 'does not extend to comments on the state of the evidence or on the failure of the defense to introduce material evidence or to call logical witnesses.' " (People v. Morris (1988) 46 Cal.3d 1, 35, 249 Cal.Rptr. 119, 756 P.2d 843, disapproved of on other grounds by In re Sassounian (1995) 9 Cal.4th 535, 543-544, fn. 5, 37 Cal.Rptr.2d 446, 887 P.2d 527.)

In applying this standard, People v. Morris found the following prosecutorial argument not violative of Griffin:

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