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Criminal Procedure Keyed to Chemerinsky
Griffin v. California
Citation:
380 U.S. 609 (1965)Facts
Griffin (Petitioner) was convicted by a jury of first-degree murder in California trial court. He did not testify at the trial on the issue of guilt, but he did testify at the separate trial on the issue of penalty. The trial court instructed the jury on the issue of guilt, stating that a defendant has a constitutional right not to testify. Griffin had been seen with the deceased the evening of her death, and the prosecutor argued that the failure of Griffin to testify signified his guilt. After the penalty trial, the death penalty was imposed.
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