State v. Reineke

Where the prosecution impermissibly references a defendant’s invocation of his right to remain silent, the defendant’s right to a fair trial is prejudiced.

Defendant appealed a judgment that convicted him of murder. On appeal defendant raised 15 assignments of error, however the Court only addressed Defendant’s fourth assignment of error. In that assignment of error Defendant contended that the prosecution impermissibly commented on his invocation of his right to remain silent and the trial court failed to sustain his objection to the prosecution’s PowerPoint presentation. The PowerPoint presentation included three slides that had defendant’s photograph, the word “GUILTY,” the phrase “his refusal to speak at the police station,” and arrows connecting the word and phrase to defendant’s picture included on the slides. On appeal, the Court held that the trial court erred when it failed to sustain Defendant’s objection to the PowerPoint presentation. The Court reasoned that Defendant’s right to a fair trial was prejudiced because the prosecutor’s PowerPoint presentation impermissibly referenced defendant’s invocation of his right to remain silent. Reversed and remanded for new trial.