Summary
U.S. Supreme Court decision utilizing CJLF arguments to reject a Texas murderer's claim that his incriminating behavior during a voluntary interview with police should have been excluded from his trial. The case involved the 1992 shotgun murders of two brothers in Houston. After police learned that Genovevo Salinas may have been involved, they visisted his parents' home, where he also lived. During the visit, Salias's father turned over his shotgun to the police, and his son agreed to go to the police station for a voluntary interview. After an hour of answering questions, when asked if the shells found at the murder scene would match the shotgun, Salinas stared at the floor and would not answer. Testing later revealed that the shells were a match, and a witness came forward telling police that Salinas admitted to the murders. At trial, the jury leanred that Salinas had refused to answer the shotgun question. Following his conviction, Salinas appealed, arguing that informing the jury of his silence violated the Fifth Amendment. CJLF joined the Supreme Court review of this case to argue that a suspect's behavior during a voluntary interview is evidence which should not be kept from the jury. The court's 5-4 decision agreed.
