Opinion ID: 709221
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Prosecutorial Wrongdoing and Mistrial

Text: 23 Defendant's second ground for appeal concerns two concededly improper questions asked by the prosecution of prosecution witness Michael Lavoie, an attorney who conducted the in-house investigation of the Fund after the disgruntled former Fund employee made his allegations of defendant's wrongdoing. Prosecutor Convertino concluded his questioning of Lavoie and the government's case by asking first whether Lavoie was aware of the fact that Metric was convicted of the felony of receiving kickback payments and then whether he was aware that Marcus was convicted of paying kickbacks. Defendant did not object to the first question. After the second question was asked and before it was answered, defendant's counsel stated, Judge, I'd like to reserve a motion. No reason was stated nor did counsel ask that the jury be excused. The court merely responded, All right, let's move along. The government soon rested and defendant then made his motion for a mistrial. Neither Metric nor Marcus were witnesses in the case; therefore, the evidence was inadmissible to impeach their credibility. The adduced evidence was however potentially prejudicial by suggesting defendant's guilt by association with Metric and Marcus the parties who were paying the alleged kickbacks. After the motion was made, the trial judge recognized the impropriety of the questions, but denied the motion for mistrial and gave the jury a curative instruction to ignore the two problematic questions as irrelevant. 24 We review the denial of a motion for mistrial for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Chambers, 944 F.2d 1253 (6th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 1112, 112 S.Ct. 1217, 117 L.Ed.2d 455 (1992). United States v. Carroll, 26 F.3d 1380 (6th Cir.1994) represents our most recent attempt to articulate a single standard for determining when a prosecutor's improper comments constitute reversible error. 26 F.3d at 1384 (citing United States v. Leon, 534 F.2d 667 (6th Cir.1976); United States v. Bess, 593 F.2d 749 (6th Cir.1979)). First, the court is to apply the so-called Leon factors to determine whether the impropriety was flagrant. Flagrant improprieties constitute reversible error. Carroll, 26 F.3d at 1385. Non-flagrant improprieties are subjected to the Bess test which requires a new trial if proof of guilt was not overwhelming, defendant objected to the improper remarks, and the court failed to cure the error with an admonishment to the jury. Carroll, 26 F.3d at 1390. The Leon factors are as follows: 25 (1) The degree to which the remarks complained of have a tendency to mislead the jury and to prejudice the accused; 26 (2) whether the comments were isolated or excessive; 27 (3) whether they were deliberately or accidentally placed before the jury; 28 (4) and finally, the strength of the competent proofs introduced to establish the guilt of the accused. 29 26 F.3d at 1384. 30 With regard to the first factor, concerns about the tendency to mislead the jury and to prejudice the accused were disposed of by the District Court's curative instructions. Juries are presumed to understand and follow such directions from the court, United States v. Forrest, 17 F.3d 916, 920-21 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 2115, 128 L.Ed.2d 673 (1994) and the District Court was emphatic in his instruction to totally and completely disregard the questions as totally irrelevant. Thus any prejudice that the improper questions may have generated was mitigated by the instructions. 2 31 Second, the comments were isolated rather than excessive. The third factor, whether the prosecution deliberately posed improper questions to the witness, is unclear. Defense counsel did not object to the prosecution's first question and only reserved a motion prior to the answer of the second question; thus defense counsel himself did not appear on notice of the impropriety of the prosecution's first question. Furthermore, after the colloquy following defense counsel's motion for mistrial in which the District Court determined that the questions were improper, the prosecution did in fact refrain from returning to this line of questions. Cf. United States v. Leon, 534 F.2d 667, 680 (6th Cir.1976)(prosecution persists in making improper argument after a ruling sustaining an objection). 32 On the other hand, the government's suggestion in its brief that these questions were in response to defense counsel's impeachment of the credibility of a prosecution witness for prior conviction is meritless. The questions by defense counsel related to convictions of witnesses who testified and whose credibility was indirectly at issue. Marcus was not a witness in this case. In addition, the government argues that the felony prosecutions of Metric and Marcus were already part of the record as part of the investigative report which the Fund hired outside counsel to perform. But as defense counsel's reply brief points out, this investigative report, although frequently referred to, was not received into evidence. 33 Finally, the fourth factor considers the strength of the competent proofs introduced to establish the guilt of the accused. As mentioned above, the record contains ample evidence of defendant's guilt for the crimes charged. Therefore, of the four factors, only the third cuts in favor of the defense and then only weakly. Thus it is clear that the misconduct was not flagrant under the Leon test. United States v. Carroll, 26 F.3d 1380, 1383-90 (6th Cir.1994). 34 It follows that the Bess test applies, and that the appellant is entitled to a new trial only if proof of his guilt was not overwhelming, he objected to the improper remarks, and the court failed to cure the error with an admonishment to the jury. Carroll, 26 F.3d at 1389-90. Although defendant argues that he objected to the second improper question, the judge apparently did not understand that counsel was making an objection and made no ruling. The statement that counsel wishes to reserve a motion does not serve an important purpose of an objection--to alert the District Court to counsel's specific problem with a question. Given counsel's tardy and non-specific objection, the overwhelming proof of defendant's guilt and the emphatic curative instructions, we find no abuse of discretion in the District Court's denial of the motion for mistrial.