The People of the State of New York, Respondent v. Paul Williams, Appellant

Summary

The Court held that the People may not use a defendant’s selective post‑arrest silence as evidence in their case‑in‑chief to infer guilt or to impeach the defendant when he does not testify. The trial court’s admission of the detective’s testimony about the defendant’s silence and the prosecutor’s comments were error not harmless, so the Court reversed the Appellate Division and ordered a new trial. Justice Abdus‑Salaam dissented, contending that the error was harmless and would have affirmed the judgment.