Fletcher v. Weir

After a fight in which Ronnie Buchanan was fatally stabbed, Weir (defendant) fled the scene without reporting the incident to police. At trial, Weir testified he acted in self-defense, and the prosecution cross-examined him about why he had stayed silent after his arrest instead of claiming self-defense or revealing the knife's location. A jury convicted Weir of first-degree manslaughter, and after the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed, Weir obtained federal habeas relief, which the Sixth Circuit affirmed; the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.