Does the 14th Amendment prohibit the prosecution from suggesting to the jury that a defendant's silence is evidence of guilt?
MultiRegion, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Ortiz v. Frauenheim, No. 1:13-cv-00006-DAD-SKO HC (E.D. Cal. 2016):
In state criminal proceedings, the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution "forbids either comment by the prosecution or instructions by the court that [a defendant's] silence is evidence of guilt." Griffin, 380 U.S. at 615. See also Baxter v. Palmigiano, 425 U.S. 308, 319 (1976) ("Griffin prohibits the judge and prosecutor from suggesting to the jury that it may treat the defendant's silence as substantive evidence of guilt").
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