Opinion ID: 1561252
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Commenting on Coreas' veracity.

Text: During the course of her argument, the prosecutor stated that a part of Coreas' statement to the police was self-serving and untrue. In concluding that this constituted misconduct, my colleagues presumably believe that she was venturing a personal opinion of the defendant's veracity, rather than suggesting inferences from the evidence. In my opinion, however, the context in which the prosecutor made these remarks demonstrates the contrary. After explaining that Coreas was not disputing important parts of the government's case, the prosecutor said: Now I told you that parts of [his] statement would not be corroborated because parts are self-serving and not true. The medical reports, the autopsy reports, tell us that. You have heard the testimony of the doctor. You will have the opportunity to review the entire autopsy report yourself, to look at every detail. Characterization of defense testimony as incredible is permissible when it is a logical inference from the evidence, and not merely the prosecutor's personal opinion as to appellant's veracity. Hammill v. United States, 498 A.2d 551, 557 (D.C.1983). A comment is within the acceptable range as long as it is in the nature of argument, and not an outright expression of opinion. Logan v. United States, 489 A.2d 485, 490-91 (D.C.1985). Since the prosecutor was comparing the defendant's testimony with other evidence in the record, I do not think that her comment was improper. See generally Irick v. United States, 565 A.2d 26, 35 (D.C.1989).