Opinion ID: 533862
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: rebuttal statement

Text: 7 Turner argues that the government's reference in its rebuttal argument to defendant, James Turner, who sits so innocently over there was a prohibited comment on appellant's failure to testify, and a disparagement of the presumption of innocence. As such, Turner contends that he should be granted a new trial. 8 Although it would have been better if the remark had not been made, this isolated statement, in the context in which it was made, was not sufficient to deprive the defendant of a fair trial. Constitutionally, the defendant is entitled only to a fair trial, not to a perfect one. It was within the trial judge's discretion to conclude that the statement, although improper, did not constitute misconduct of a magnitude sufficient to warrant a new trial. Upon review, this Court must give great deference to the district court's decision, since the trial judge had the opportunity to listen to the tone of the argument as it was made, and was in a position to observe the effect that it had upon the jury. See Miller v. Fenton, 474 U.S. 104, 114, 106 S.Ct. 445, 451, 88 L.Ed.2d 405 (1985) (where mixed questions of law and fact exist, the determination of which standard of review to use on appeal often turns upon a determination that, as a matter of sound administration of justice, one judicial actor is better positioned than another to decide the issue in question). 9 In deciding issues of this genre, we have clearly elucidated the standard: 10 In deciding whether a new trial is required--either because prosecutorial misconduct likely affected a trial's outcome or to deter such misconduct in the future--we consider the severity of the misconduct, whether it was deliberate or accidental, the context in which it occurred, the likely curative effect of the judge's admonitions and the strength of the evidence against the defendant. 11 United States v. Ingraldi, 793 F.2d 408, 416 (1st Cir.1986). See also United States v. Glantz, 810 F.2d 316, 320 (1st Cir.1987) (citing United States v. Ingraldi, 793 F.2d at 416), cert. denied, 482 U.S. 929, 107 S.Ct. 3214, 96 L.Ed.2d 701 (1987); United States v. Cox, 752 F.2d 741, 745 (1st Cir.1985); United States v. Capone, 683 F.2d 582, 586 (1st Cir.1982). Upon evaluation of the remark and of the district court's findings in light of this standard, we conclude that the district court's decision denying a new trial was not error. 12 The statement can be reasonably construed as accidental, not deliberate, in the sense that there is nothing to suggest that it had been planned in advance. See Capone, 683 F.2d at 586. Moreover, it is reasonable to conclude that it was made only in response to a continuing thread of the defense's argument. As the district court stated, 13 I deny the motion for mistrial. I didn't interpret Mr. Kelly's remark--while the tone was argumentative, it mirrored some of the tone of Mr. Walker's argument. 14