California Supreme Court rules that silence can be evidence of guilt
Source: policestateusa.com
The Supreme Court of California has ruled that a suspect’s silence can be used as evidence of guilt during trial.The 4-3 decision reversed an appellate court’s ruling and reinstated a man’s felony conviction for a 2007 vehicular manslaughter case. That case involved a motorist named Richard Tom, who broadsided another vehicle while speeding in Redwood City.
Following the collision, Mr. Tom chose to remain silent when confronted by police. While “the right to remain silent” is traced back to the Fifth Amendment and has received longstanding legal acceptance, courts have recently moved to curtail that right by claiming that a suspect must verbally invoke a condition of silence for the legal protection to apply, prior to the reading of the Miranda warning.In other words, the burden rests on the suspect to indicate when he or she is exercising such a right. For example, a suspect must announce, “I’m going to remain silent now,” or “I am hereby invoking the Fifth Amendment” during police questioning for legal protection of silence to apply. Without specifically stating an intention to remain silent, prosecutors may portray the defendant as guilty for simply saying nothing.
That’s what happened in Mr. Tom’s manslaughter trial. Since he did not specifically invoke the Fifth Amendment, prosecutors exploited his silence by telling jurors that the defendant callously refused to ask about the injured parties; attempting to portray the behavior of a reckless and remorseless killer instead of a person exercising his rights (and standard legal advice).
At his 2008 trial, Mr. Tom was convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter. A San Mateo Superior Court judge said that Tom’s apparent lack of concern was relevant to the issue of criminal recklessness.
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Read the full article at: policestateusa.com
