Objection Alone Does Not Preserve Miranda Issue

On appeal, Potts argued "that the government violated his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination by referencing, during trial, his silence in response to police questioning[.]" The court reviewed for plain error, because an objection alone was not sufficient to preserve the issue. The 5th cited Salinas, 480 F.3d at 755, in holding that plain-error review was appropriate for a Fifth Amendment claim even though defense counsel “timely objected to each of the prosecutor’s references to [the defendant’s] post-arrest silence,” because “the trial court sustained all of those objections, and the trial court’s instructions to the jury made it clear that the jury was not to consider any of the challenged remarks.” Furthermore, we remarked that the defense “never took exception to the district court’s handling of his objections and, significantly, . . . never requested that the district court declare a mistrial.” Id. at 755-56. Plain error review was appropriate, because the defendant “effectively received all of the relief that he requested from the district court.” Id. at 756.
United States v. Potts, No. 10-10257 (5th Cir. June 15, 2011) (Smith, DeMoss, Owen)