Commonwealth v. Rasheed

CAVANAUGH, Judge:

The sole issue for our consideration is whether the trial court committed reversible error in charging the jury in a rape case, over objection by defense counsel, that the defendant did not have to testify and that no unfavorable inference was to be drawn against the defendant for failure to testify in his own behalf.1

In the case before us, the appellant, Abdul Rasheed, did not take the witness stand in the trial in which he was charged with rape and possession of an instrument of crime. His counsel did not want the court to charge on his client’s right not to incriminate…