Chapman v. California
United States Supreme Court
386 U.S. 18 (1967)
Relevant factsFree
At Chapman's (defendant) murder trial, the prosecutor commented on his failure to testify and urged the jury to draw adverse inferences from his silence, violating the privilege against self-incrimination as established in Griffin v. California. The California Supreme Court found the error harmless, and Chapman sought review from the U.S. Supreme Court.
IssueFree
Whether, for a federal constitutional error to be held harmless, a court must be able to declare a belief that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.