ABSTRACT
In Adamson v. California, the US Supreme Court upheld a murder conviction despite claims by the defendant that the prosecutor's comments about his refusal to testify at trial violated his due process rights. Adamson refused to testify in his own defense, and the prosecutor suggested that the jury could take the defendant's silence as evidence of guilt. Adamson had refused to testify in his own behalf because of a prior criminal history. He believed his testimony would open the door for the prosecution to impeach his credibility based on that prior record and thus would violate his right against self-incrimination. California law did not permit the prosecution to force Adamson to testify, but, unlike federal law, the state did allow the prosecution to comment on his refusal to do so. Adamson asked the Court to strike down the California law that permitted prosecutorial comment on a defendant's decision not to testify.
