And yes,I've heard of the 5th Amendment.But if I refuse to testify at my own trial I'd expect the jury to assume that I refuse because I'm guilty.And if I'm a juror and the defendant refuses to testify....GUILTY!
By his own lights, the defense attorney is right to keep the little s*** off the stand.
The very first question the prosecution would ask him would be aimed straight at his democratic politician daddy. Anybody who thinks for a moment the hacking of Palin’s email was just an “innocent” prank by a dumb kid, is even dumber than the hacker.
But if I refuse to testify at my own trial I'd expect the jury to assume that I refuse because I'm guilty.
No..., it's a "Constitutional right" and if you don't exercise your rights... you eventually lose those Constitutional rights.
Even innocent people can easily be made to look guilty by how they explain their innocence. It's not always a good idea...
From what I understand, in general, the only reason the defendant should testify is the defense team believes (s)he will be be convicted otherwise. It's a last-ditch attempt to gain credibility for the defense's case.