Opinion ID: 202508
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Prosecutor's Opening and Closing Statements

Text: 44 Lastly, Cormier calls our attention to comments made by the prosecutor during her opening and closing statements, which Cormier construes as improperly vouching for witnesses and criticizing his choice not to testify. We have fashioned a three-part test to determine whether a prosecutor's comments have so poisoned the well that a new trial must be ordered. United States v. Joyner, 191 F.3d 47, 54 (1st Cir.1999). We consider: 45 (1) whether the prosecutor's conduct was isolated and/or deliberate; (2) whether the trial court gave a strong and explicit cautionary instruction; and (3) whether it is likely that any prejudice surviving the judge's instruction could have affected the outcome of the case. 46 Id. 47 Cormier argues that the prosecutor improperly and repeatedly vouched for the credibility of witnesses. He specifically points to the fact that the prosecutor said three times during the opening that witnesses were telling the truth. Further, Cormier argues, the prosecutor again vouched for the witnesses during her closing argument when she said that the witnesses are worthy of their belief. Compounding these errors, Cormier argues, were the prosecution's comments regarding Mr. Cormier's own words and actions and Mr. Cormier's own credibility. These comments, Cormier argues, were an indirect criticism of his choice not to testify at trial. 48 It is undisputed that the government is prohibited from placing the prestige of the United States behind a witness by making personal assurances of credibility. United States v. Torres-Galindo, 206 F.3d 136, 140 (1st Cir.2000). Likewise, it is clearly established that a prosecutor may not comment upon a defendant's choice to avail himself of his Fifth Amendment right to not testify at trial. Griffin v. California, 380 U.S. 609, 613, 85 S.Ct. 1229, 14 L.Ed.2d 106 (1965); United States v. Roberts, 119 F.3d 1006, 1014 (1st Cir.1997). The Government conceded that some of the prosecutor's statements vouched for certain witness' testimony. Furthermore, we agree with the district court that the prosecutor's statements, although somewhat ambiguous, may have come perilously close to criticizing Cormier's choice to not testify. Given Cormier's frequent objections to these statements and that the prosecutor continued to make them, these comments constitute a serious error in judgment on the part of the prosecutor. 6 49 We are mindful, however, of the Supreme Court's admonition against letting the guilty go free to punish prosecutorial misconduct. United States v. Auch, 187 F.3d 125, 133 (1st Cir.1999) (citing United States v. Hasting, 461 U.S. 499, 506-07, 103 S.Ct. 1974, 76 L.Ed.2d 96 (1983)). To begin, the vigorous cross-examination of the prosecution witnesses, the court's instructions 7 to the jury to disregard the prosecutor's improper comments, and the passage of four days after the opening remarks were made, likely mitigated the impact on the jury of the prosecutor's initial improper vouching. See United States v. Rosales, 19 F.3d 763, 767 (1st Cir.1994). Our concerns with the prosecutor's statement on closing are somewhat greater because of the possible cumulative effect of the improper comments and the fact that the prosecutor had already been censured for such comments during the opening. However, as we have recommended, the court issued final instructions to the jury [that] were strong and clear on their duty to disregard the improper comments and to properly weigh the credibility of witnesses. United States v. Rodríguez-Estrada, 877 F.2d 153, 159 (1st Cir.1989). The fact that Cormier declined the court's offer of an additional instruction is also indicative of the lack of prejudice. Furthermore, this was not a case where the prosecution relied solely on the testimony of one or two witnesses, in which vouching could have had a particularly strong impact on the jury. Compare United States v. Manning, 23 F.3d 570, 575 (1st Cir.1994) (finding that improper vouching affected a case where two prosecution witnesses had testified against the defendant and their testimony was challenged by two defense witnesses) with Torres-Galindo, 206 F.3d at 141-42 (1st Cir.2000) (finding that vouching did not affect a case where there was consistent testimony implicating the defendant). Rather, the prosecution offered not only the testimony of Cormier's co-venturers, but also the testimony of victims of his robberies and other acquaintances, all of whom testified consistently regarding Cormier's actions. Finally, the prosecutor's statements regarding Cormier's choice not to testify were so vague and oblique that it was unlikely that they caused Cormier any real prejudice. Given the overwhelming evidence which implicates Cormier in the crimes of which he has been convicted, we cannot say that any prejudice surviving the curative instructions would have affected the outcome of the trial.