State v. Holmes

A jury convicted Donald Holmes of child rape and child molestation. During the trial, a detective testified that Holmes did not “appear surprised” when arrested, and Holmes did not deny the allegation of sexual abuse as the detective “would normally expect to see.”1 We agree with Holmes that the detective’s testimony undermined his exercise of his constitutional right to remain silent. And because we cannot be confident that the impermissible comments did not affect the outcome of the case, we reverse the conviction.

The charges involved three sisters. Their mother had a nomadic lifestyle, and…