Luis A. Pineda v. State of Florida

The issue before the Court is whether an unanswered question by the state prosecu tor, asking defendant on cross-examination if he had told at the preliminary hearing the same story he was telling at trial, was a comment on defendant’s silence in violation of his rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Under the facts of this case, we hold that the prosecutor’s question did not amount to a comment on defendant’s silence. We affirm the denial of a writ of habeas corpus.

Defendant Pineda was convicted by a jury for possession with intent to sell or deliver cocaine, in violation of…