Supreme Court to consider if silence can be evidence of guilt

January 17, 2013 by legitgov

Supreme Court to consider if silence can be evidence of guilt 11 Jan 2013 The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to consider whether a suspect's refusal to answer police questions prior to being arrested and read his rights can be introduced as evidence of guilt at his subsequent murder trial. Without comment, the court agreed to hear the appeal of Genovevo Salinas, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to 20 years in prison for the December 1992 deaths of two brothers in Houston... Salinas's lawyer argued that his client deserved a Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, even though he had not been under arrest or read his rights under the landmark 1966 decision Miranda v. Arizona. The decision is Salinas v. Texas, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-246.