Supreme Court of Connecticut
State v. A. M.
January 10, 2017
Summary
The dissent disagreed with reversal of the defendant's convictions based on the prosecutor's references during closing argument to the defendant's decision not to testify. It agreed that the comments violated the applicable state statute but concluded they did not violate the Fifth Amendment and, in any event, were harmless beyond a reasonable doubt because they were isolated, the jury was instructed not to draw an adverse inference, and the evidence supported the verdict. The dissent would have reversed the Appellate Court's judgment.