Griffin v. the State of California

Summary

The Court held that the Fifth Amendment, as applied to the States through the Fourteenth Amendment, prohibits both prosecutorial comment and jury instructions treating a criminal defendant's failure to testify as evidence of guilt. California's rule imposed an unconstitutional penalty on the exercise of the privilege against self-incrimination, even though it did not formally compel testimony. Justice Stewart, dissenting, would have affirmed, while Justice Hamah concurred reluctantly on the ground that prior incorporation precedent compelled the result.