Opinion ID: 2624500
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Question Withdrawn by Prosecution

Text: Defendant next renews an argument at the penalty retrial regarding the prosecution's use of the term anesthetize to characterize Terry Buchanan's actions near the end of his life. During direct examination of Joseph Buchanan, the prosecutor asked several questions regarding Terry's use of alcohol. He then aborted a question as follows: Basically trying to anesthetize himselfnever mind. Let me go to the night before he died. What did he tell you the night before he died? Defendant did not object at the time, but when next out of the presence of the jury argued that the suggestion now is that [Terry] was anesthetizing himself and, by inference, killing himself because of the loss of his wife. Defendant sought a mistrial on the grounds that the question constituted improper victim impact evidence in that it allowed the prosecution to imply that defendant was responsible for Terry Buchanan's death. The court denied the motion, ruling that the prosecutor withdrew the question and the witness did not answer it. Defendant now argues the court erred. We disagree. The court instructed the jury, [i]f a question was put to a witness, but the witness did not answer the question, of course, that produces no evidence for your consideration.... [¶] The questions themselves may have suggested the existence of certain facts. And the question may have been [`]isn't it a fact such and such[';] if that question wasn't answered, then the question doesn't establish that it is a fact. The court's instruction correctly informed the jury that questions by counsel were not evidence and eliminated the possibility that the jury would improperly consider facts not in evidence. Defendant further argues the prosecutor engaged in misconduct in asking the question. In light of our determination that the instruction by the court properly eliminated any possibility that the jury would improperly consider facts not in evidence, any misconduct could not have prejudiced defendant.