Salinas v. Texas
- Case No.: 12-246
- Jurisdiction: United States Supreme Court
- Brief Filed: September 27, 2012
Briefs
Prior Decision
Decision below 369 S.W.3d 176 (Tex. 2012).
Argument(s)
In the case below, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination does not apply to pre-arrest, pre-Miranda silence, and therefore such silence in response to police questioning was admissible as evidence of guilt.
If a defendant’s pre-arrest silence in the face of police questioning may be admitted as evidence of guilt, the defendant faces a “cruel trilemma.” He can answer the police questions truthfully, possibly incriminating himself. He can lie to law enforcement, itself often a crime.3 Or he can remain silent and risk that his silence will be used against him as evidence of his guilt. The privilege against self-incrimination would be hollow if its exercise could be taken as equivalent to a confession of guilt.
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Author(s)
Craig D. Singer and Jared L. Hubbard, Williams & Connolly LLP, Washington, DC, and Jeffrey T. Green, Sidley Austin LLP, Washington, DC.