How does the Fifth Amendment protect a defendant's Fifth Amendment right to remain silent?

The Fifth Amendment commands that "(n)o person . . . shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself . . . ." This principle is "the essential mainstay of our adversary system." Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 460, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 1620, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Moreover, this "privilege is fulfilled only when the person is guaranteed the right 'to remain silent unless he chooses to speak in the unfettered exercise of his own will.' " Id.

In addition to allowing criminal defendants to remain silent, the Constitution also prohibits the government from using that silence as inferential evidence of the defendant's guilt. "The prosecution may not, therefore, use at trial the fact that (the defendant) stood mute or claimed his privilege in the face of accusation." Miranda v. Arizona, supra, 384 U.S. at 468 n. 37, 86 S.Ct. at 1625.