State of Connecticut v. A. M.

Summary

The court held that the prosecutor's two direct references during closing argument to the defendant's failure to testify violated the defendant's Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Applying harmless-error review, the court concluded that the state failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the violations did not affect the verdict because the comments were egregious, focused on credibility, and occurred in a case lacking physical evidence. The court therefore affirmed the Appellate Court's reversal of the convictions.