Does a defendant have a right not to testify at a jury trial?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Peerman, E063271 (Cal. App. 2016):
The court explained that the defendant had just been through a jury trial at which he did not testify, but his codefendant did; thus, he knew he had a right not to testify. (People v. Mosby, supra, 33 Cal.4th at p. 364.) Similarly, "because he had, through counsel, confronted witnesses at that immediately concluded trial, he would have understood that at a trial he had the right of confrontation." (Ibid.) The court also noted
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