A bizarre twist on your right to remain silent (or suspension of the Fifth Amendment)

A bizarre twist on your right to remain silent:

The Fifth Amendment Provides: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."

However, in Salinas v. Texas, the Supreme Court held yesterday that silence during a "pre-custodial" interrogation is admissible as evidence of guilt.

The Court further stated that: "Petitioner’s Fifth Amendment claim fails because he did not expressly invoke the privilege against self- incrimination in response to the officer’s question. It has long been settled that the privilege “generally is not self- executing” and that a witness who desires its protection “ ‘must claim it.’ ...Because petitioner was required to assert the privilege in order to benefit from it, the judgment of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejecting petitioner’s Fifth Amendment claim is affirmed.."

What does this mean to you?  In order to invoke your right to remain silent you now may need to speak up.

If you have been charged with a crime, hire an experienced criminal defense attorney and remember, you do have a right to remain silent, however, apparently you must now first invoke it.

Jury Selection - Striking for Cause

An interesting jury selection decision here in Florida was published yesterday in: ERNEST LARON BLAKE, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. 1st District. Case No. 1D12-1385. Opinion filed April 8, 2013.

The Court there held that it was an error to grant, over defendant's objection, state's challenge for cause as to prospective juror who indicated that he was engaged to a public defender in a different circuit where, although juror acknowledged that fiancee talked to him about the types of cases she worked on, juror indicated he would have no problem finding a person guilty if the evidence supported such a result.

The Court further held that the error not harmless, although state still had an unused peremptory challenge that could have been used to strike this juror.

From a procedural standpoint, it is important to object not only at time of striking, but also before the panel is sworn in as a whole in order to preserve the objection for appeal (as this lawyer did here).  As a result of this attorney's diligence the instant conviction was overturned on appeal. and remanded for a new trial.

Should you be in need of an attorney or be representing yourself pro se, remember that jury selection may be better conducted by a competent criminal defense attorney.