Opinion ID: 1379871
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Improper statements quantifying reasonable doubt.

Text: Lord contends that Mr. Henry improperly quantified the concept of reasonable doubt during closing argument by suggesting that having 90-95% of the pieces of a puzzle suffices to convict beyond a reasonable doubt. Whether made by the district judge or the prosecutor, this comment is improper under McCullough v. State, 99 Nev. 72, 657 P.2d 1157 (1983) (error for district judge to say that reasonable doubt meant about 75% certainty). Parties to a criminal case should assiduously avoid such attempts to quantify the concept of reasonable doubt. Nevertheless, citing Petrocelli v. State, 101 Nev. 46, 692 P.2d 503 (1985), the State contends that any error was not prejudicial, and we agree. In McCullough, this court found the improper comment reversible in large part because the jury also received an improper written instruction on reasonable doubt. In Petrocelli, in contrast, this court concluded that the judge's similar comment was not prejudicial because the jury had received the proper written definition of reasonable doubt mandated by NRS 175.211 and because the judge elsewhere explained reasonable doubt in a proper fashion. Here, as in Petrocelli, the jury received the proper written instruction. Additionally, immediately after making the improper statements, Mr. Henry proceeded to state the correct statutory definition to the jury. For these reasons, we cannot conclude that this error was prejudicial.