Griffin v. California

Griffin (defendant) was convicted of first-degree murder after choosing not to testify at trial; the prosecution's closing argument repeatedly pointed to his silence as evidence of guilt, and the trial judge, following a California statute, instructed the jury it could treat Griffin's failure to deny or explain evidence he could reasonably be expected to address as tending to show that evidence was true, despite also telling the jury he had a constitutional right not to testify. The state supreme court affirmed the conviction, and the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.