Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 29 (1993)

Page:   Index   Previous  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  Next

Cite as: 507 U. S. 619 (1993)

White, J., dissenting

detained. It is no surprise, then, that the Court of Appeals in this case rested its decision on an analogy between the rights guaranteed in Doyle v. Ohio, 426 U. S. 610 (1976), and those at issue in Stone. See 944 F. 2d 1363, 1371-1372 (CA7 1991). Doyle, it concluded, "is . . . a prophylactic rule designed to protect another prophylactic rule from erosion or misuse." 944 F. 2d, at 1370.

But the Court clearly and, in my view, properly rejects that view. Indeed, it repeatedly emphasizes that Doyle "is rooted in fundamental fairness and due process concerns," that "due process is violated whenever the prosecution uses for impeachment purposes a defendant's post-Miranda silence," and that it "does not bear the hallmarks of a prophylactic rule." Ante, at 629. Because the Court likewise leaves undisturbed the notion that Chapman's harmless-error standard is required to protect constitutional rights, see supra, at 645, its conclusion that a Doyle violation that fails to meet that standard will not trigger federal habeas relief is inexplicable.

II

The majority's decision to adopt this novel approach is far from inconsequential. Under Chapman, the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the constitutional error "did not contribute to the verdict obtained." 386 U. S., at 24. In contrast, the Court now invokes Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U. S. 750 (1946)—a case involving a non-constitutional error of trial procedure—to impose on the defendant the burden of establishing that the error "resulted in 'actual prejudice.' " Ante, at 637. Moreover, although the Court of Appeals limited its holding to Doyle and other so-called "prophylactic" rules, 944 F. 2d, at 1375, and although the parties' arguments were similarly focused, see Brief for Respondent 36-37; Brief for United States as Amicus Curiae 16, 19, n. 11, the Court extends its holding to all "constitutional error[s] of the trial type," ante, at 638. Given that

647

Page:   Index   Previous  22  23  24  25  26  27  28  29  30  31  32  33  34  35  36  Next

Last modified: October 4, 2007