Opinion

Tehan v. United States Ex Rel. Shott

  • 382 U.S. 406
  • 86 S. Ct. 459
  • 15 L. Ed. 2d 453
  • 1966 U.S. LEXIS 2527
Court
Supreme Court of the United States
Filed
Nov 15, 1965
Status
Published
Author
Black
On the bench
Stewart, Black, Douglas, Fortas
Cited by
598 cases
Authority
More cited than 24.0%

holding the rule against adverse comments on a defendant's failure to testify as violative of the privilege against self-incrimination, announced in Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 85 S.Ct. 1229, 14 L.Ed.2d 106, not to be retroactive

How later courts described this case

  • holding the rule against adverse comments on a defendant's failure to testify as violative of the privilege against self-incrimination, announced in Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 85 S.Ct. 1229, 14 L.Ed.2d 106, not to be retroactive
  • holding that the Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 14 L. Ed. 2d 106 (1965) rule prohibiting comment on the accused's failure to testify is to be applied prospectively only
  • denying retroactivity to decisions that were final at the time of the decision in Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 85 S.Ct. 1229, 14 L.Ed.2d 106 (1965) (prosecutor and trial judge may not make adverse comment on defendant's failure to testify)
  • considering whether a rule change should be given retroactive effect, and concluding that the court must consider the extent of reliance which has been placed on the old rule

Written by the judges who cited it.

The opinion

Mr. Justice Black,

with whom Mr. Justice Douglas joins,

dissents for substantially the same reasons stated in his dissenting opinion in Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U. S. 618, at 640 .

The Chief Justice took no part in the decision of this case.

Mr. Justice Fortas took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.