State v. Trequan Baker

Syllabus

During the cross-examination of the defendant, Trequan Baker, the prosecutor twice impermissibly questioned the defendant concerning his post-arrest decision to remain silent while in custody at the Pawtucket Police Department. The offending questions posed by the prosecutor endeavored to undermine the defendant's credibility by suggesting that his testimony—that he acted in the defense of others—had been recently manufactured as evidenced by his previous silence. Although the trial justice sustained the objections to the offending questions and issued a cautionary instruction, as well as a final jury instruction, that the defendant had the right to remain silent and that the jury may not draw an adverse inference from the exercise of that constitutional right, the Supreme Court concluded that the offending cross-examination questions were inherently prejudicial and violated the defendant's right to due process. Accordingly, the Supreme Court vacated the defendant's conviction.