California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Brown, 3 Cal.Rptr.3d 145, 31 Cal.4th 518, 73 P.3d 1137 (Cal. 2003):
(v) Defense counsel similarly failed to preserve a claim of Griffin error by objecting on that basis at trial. Even assuming the issue was preserved, however, there was no error. Griffin, supra, 380 U.S. 609, 85 S.Ct. 1229, 14 L.Ed.2d 106, protects a defendant's right not to have the prosecutor comment on his failure to testify. A prosecutor is permitted, however, to comment on a defendant's failure to introduce material evidence or call logical witnesses. (People v. Hughes (2002) 27 Cal.4th 287, 372, 116 Cal.Rptr.2d 401, 39 P.3d 432.) By directing the jury's attention to the fact defendant never presented evidence that he was somewhere else when the crime was committed, the prosecutor did no more than emphasize defendant's failure to present material evidence. He did not capitalize on the fact defendant failed to testify. Accordingly, there was no Griffin error.
8. Failure to Instruct the Jury that Fields Was an Accomplice as a Matter of Law
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.