Opinion ID: 2449956
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Injecting personal belief into closing

Text: Next, Hall claims the prosecutor committed misconduct in his closing arguments by inappropriately injecting his personal belief as to Hall's guilt with the following statement:  Like I told you in Voir Dire, that I would present all the evidence necessary to convict the defendant of first-degree murder. And I believe the evidence states for that fact that I've done that. But what I told you I would not be able to do is present you with why. The witnesses who saw it couldn't tell you why. (Emphasis added.) A lawyer is prohibited from stating a personal opinion as to the justness of a cause, the credibility of a witness, the culpability of a civil litigant or the guilt or innocence of an accused. Kansas Rules of Professional Conduct 3.4(e) (2010 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 552); State v. Pabst, 268 Kan. 501, 506, 996 P.2d 321 (2000) ( Pabst I ). The point of not allowing a prosecutor to comment on the credibility of a witness is that expressions of personal opinion by the prosecutor are a form of unsworn, unchecked testimony, not commentary on the evidence of the case. 268 Kan. at 510, 996 P.2d 321. Hall argues the prosecutor's comments here equate with the improper injection of personal beliefs found objectionable in Pabst I. We disagree. While we recognized in Pabst I that a prosecutor may not express his or her personal belief regarding the defendant's guilt, the prosecutor here did not do so. Instead, he reminded the jury that he had told them in voir dire that he would present the necessary evidence to convict the defendant, and he further informed them that he believed he had done his job. Accordingly, we do not find this statement to be improper.