Silence After the Warning

Two men were arrested after an informant arranged to buy ten pounds of marijuana from them. On arrest they were given Miranda warnings. At trial, both testified that they had been framed: they said the informant had set them up, putting the money in their car and keeping the drugs himself. On cross-examination, the prosecutor repeatedly asked why, if that story was true, they had not told it to the officers when they were arrested, suggesting their account had been made up afterwards. The prosecution argued that their failure to explain themselves at arrest showed the story was invented. The defence argued that using their silence after they had been told they had the right to remain silent was fundamentally unfair and unconstitutional.