Opinion ID: 150603
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Prosecutor's Alleged Reliance on Excluded Evidence

Text: Though silent on the issue before, Lee now contends that the prosecutor committed misconduct by alluding to excluded evidence in suggesting that Digger paused at the coat and rifle. (App. at 2.) Lee's previous silence is understandable, since the record does not actually support his argument. At no time did the prosecutor state that Digger paused or hesitated at the coat and the rifle. While the prosecutor did state that Digger came from the car, went down the stairs, across the parking lot and to the gun ( Id. at 619), and while that comment arguably comes close to what was prohibited by the District Court, there was no assertion that the dog paused or alerted at the gun. Instead, a fair interpretation of the prosecutor's argument is that Digger led the police away from the car, down a path, and to the area where the coat and rifle were located, before heading to the Apartments. Given Harkins's testimony that Digger traced a path from Lee's car to within inches of where the police discovered the coat and rifle, the District Court's allowing the prosecutor's argument was not plain error. We have repeatedly held that a prosecutor is entitled to considerable latitude in summation to argue the evidence and any reasonable inferences that can be drawn from that evidence. United States v. Werme, 939 F.2d 108, 117 (3d Cir.1991) (citation omitted). That latitude encompasses the argument that the path that Digger tracked was evidence that Lee had dropped the coat and rifle by the fence.