Opinion ID: 1855709
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 41

Heading: Instruction on defendant's failure to testify

Text: Finally, defendant contends the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury during the penalty phase that no negative inferences could be drawn from defendant's failure to testify, and he cites People v. Ramirez, 98 Ill.2d 439, 75 Ill. Dec. 241, 457 N.E.2d 31 (1993) for this proposition. Ramirez, however, is inapposite, as the trial judge in that case refused to give a requested instruction. In the instant case, no such instruction was requested. Moreover, such an instruction was given prior to jury deliberations in the guilt phase. Further, the trial judge instructed the jurors prior to penalty phase deliberations that they could consider any evidence presented during the guilt phase. Accordingly, it is reasonable to infer that the jurors applied this instruction to the penalty phase as well as the guilt phase. See State v. Langley, 95-1489 (La.4/14/98), 711 So.2d 651 (At the end of the guilt phase, the judge had charged that the defendant was not required to testify and that no presumption nor inference of any kind could be drawn from the fact that the defendant did not testify. During the penalty phase the judge instructed the jurors that they could `consider the evidence adduced at the guilt-determination trial.' Under the circumstances, it is reasonable to conclude that the jurors applied the instruction from the guilt phase when the defendant did not testify.). This assignment of error thus lacks merit as to the instruction on defendant's failure to testify.