Home > Great American Court Cases > Griffin v. California

Legal Citation: 380 U.S. 609 (1965)

Petitioner
Griffin

Respondent
State of California

Petitioner's Claim
That a prosecutor's comment on the fact that the defendant, Griffin, did not take the stand in a state criminal trial violated the Self-Incrimination Clause of the Fifth Amendment.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
Morris Lavine

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Albert W. Harris

Justices for the Court
Hugo Lafayette Black, William J. Brennan, Jr., Tom C. Clark, William O. Douglas (writing for the Court), Arthur Goldberg, John Marshall Harlan II

Justices Dissenting
Potter Stewart, Byron R. White (Earl Warren did not participate)

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
28 April 1965

Decision
State laws allowing adverse comment on the failure of a defendant to take...