People v. Vereen

It can hardly be disputed that CPL 300.10 (subd 2) is both a recognition of and an attempt to deal with the sensitive problem that a defendant in a criminal case faces when he chooses not to take the stand. Though no unfavorable inferences are to flow from the exercise of that constitutional privilege (cf. Brooks v Tennessee, 406 US 605; Griffin v California, 380 US 609), failure to recognize that that ideal is seldom achieved would be to ignore reality.

Whether to give or not to give a "no inference” charge in order to attempt to eradicate a lurking adverse inference has long been an…