Opinion ID: 1597411
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: Improper Prosecutorial Comments During Guilt and Penalty Phase Closing Arguments

Text: We have considered Simpson's claim of improper prosecutorial argument. He admits that no objection was made to any of the comments. In Brooks v. State, 762 So.2d 879 (Fla.2000), we recognized: As a general rule, this Court has determined that failing to raise a contemporaneous objection when improper closing argument comments are made waives any claim concerning such comments for appellate review. The sole exception to the general rule is where the unobjected-to comments rise to the level of fundamental error, which has been defined as error that reaches down into the validity of the trial itself to the extent that a verdict of guilty could not have been obtained without the assistance of the alleged error. Id. at 898-99 (citations omitted) (quoting McDonald v. State, 743 So.2d 501, 505 (Fla.1999)). None of the comments individually or collectively rises to the level of fundamental error. In fact, the majority of the comments were based on facts in evidence and therefore proper. See Gonzalez v. State, 990 So.2d 1017, 1028-29 (Fla.2008) ([T]he proper exercise of closing argument is to review the evidence and to explicate those inferences which may reasonably be drawn from the evidence.) (quoting Bertolotti v. State, 476 So.2d 130, 134 (Fla.1985)); Gore v. State, 719 So.2d 1197, 1200 (Fla.1998) (recognizing that attorneys are permitted wide latitude in closing argument, but that latitude does not extend to allow improper argument). Several of the comments could be construed as impermissible bolstering. See Gorby v. State, 630 So.2d 544, 547 (Fla.1993). [7] However, the comments were brief and in no way do they constitute fundamental error. Accordingly, Simpson's claim of error fails.