 In Salinas , Genevevo Salinas of Houston had voluntarily gone to a police station when officers asked him to accompany them to talk about the murder of two men . Salinas answered most of the officers ’ questions , but simply remained silent when they asked him whether shotgun casings found at the scene of the murders would match his gun . He shifted his feet , and otherwise acted nervously , but did not say anything . Later , at his trial , prosecutors told jurors that his silence in the face of that question showed that he was guilty , that he knew that the shotgun used to kill the victims was his . Salinas lawyer wanted the Supreme Court to rule that the simple fact of silence during police questioning , when an individual was not under arrest , could not be used against that person at a criminal trial . 
