Napoleon Momon v. State

In Napoleon Momon v. State, 18 S.W.3d 152, Hamilton County (Tenn. 1999), the Court held that a defendant's waiver of his right to testify would no longer be presumed from a silent record and that the trial court must hold a jury-out hearing in which defense counsel questions the defendant on whether his waiver of his right to testify is knowing, voluntary, and intelligent. Slip op. at 14. The court held that a denial of the right to testify is subject to a constitutional harmless error analysis. Slip op. at 22. In Momon , our supreme court held that the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 9 of the Tennessee Constitution guarantee a criminal defendant's right to testify. Slip op. at 6. This right must be personally waived by the defendant. Slip op. at 13. In all cases tried or retried after Momon, the trial court must hold a jury-out hearing in order to establish that the defendant's waiver of the right to testify is knowing, voluntary, and intelligent. Slip op. at 14, 16. During this hearing, defense counsel's inquiry into the voluntariness of the defendant's waiver must show at a minimum that the defendant knows and understands that: (1) the defendant has the right not to testify, and if the defendant does not testify, then the jury (or court) may not draw any inferences from the defendant's failure to testify; (2) the defendant has the right to testify and that if the defendant wishes to exercise that right, no one can prevent the defendant from testifying; (3) the defendant has consulted with his or her counsel in making the decision whether or not to testify; that the defendant has been advised of the advantages and disadvantages of testifying; and that the defendant has voluntarily and personally waived the right to testify. Slip op. at 14. This procedure is a prophylactic measure and does not establish a new constitutional rule that must be retroactively applied. Slip op. at 16. The failure to follow this procedure alone will not prove that the defendant was denied the right to testify if other evidence in the record reveals that the defendant personally waived the right. Slip op. at 16.