Opinion ID: 757025
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: jury arguments

Text: 205 Abouhalima argues that the government, through its opening statements and summation, deprived him of a fair trial by egregiously misrepresenting the evidence, by appealing to the jurors' fears, by vouching for a witness, and by attempting to shift the burden of proof. Ajaj argues that the government misrepresented the evidence, invited the jury to speculate and relied on evidence it knew, or should have known, was false. 206 Due process bars a prosecutor from making knowing use of false evidence. United States v. Boothe, 994 F.2d 63, 68 (2d Cir.1993). [A] conviction may not stand if such evidence could in any reasonable likelihood have affected the judgment of the jury. Id. (citations, internal quotation marks and alterations omitted). Moreover, although the government has broad latitude in the inferences it may reasonably suggest to the jury during summation, United States v. Zackson, 12 F.3d 1178, 1183 (2d Cir.1993) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted), [t]he prosecutor has a special duty not to mislead; the government should ... never make affirmative statements contrary to what it knows to be the truth. United States v. Myerson, 18 F.3d 153, 162 n. 10 (2d Cir.1994) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted; first alteration in original); see United States v. Valentine, 820 F.2d 565, 570 (2d Cir.1987). A prosecutor's statements during summation, if improper, will result in a denial of due process rights only if, in the context of the entire summation, they cause the defendant substantial prejudice. United States v. Rivera, 22 F.3d 430, 437 (2d Cir.1994). To determine whether substantial prejudice was caused, we consider the severity of the misconduct, the curative measures taken by the court, and the certainty of conviction absent the misconduct. Id. Where the defendant fails to object to the prosecutor's purported misrepresentations at trial, we review the government's summation for flagrant abuse. See id. For the reasons that follow, we reject Abouhalima's and Ajaj's contentions. 207

208 Abouhalima submits that the government argued during summation, without any evidentiary support that (a) witnesses had identified him at the 40 Pamrapo apartment and had seen him carrying buckets of chemicals out of that apartment; (b) he had admitted his affiliation with Yousef shortly after he was taken into United States custody; and (c) he gave no explanation for his nervousness the night after the bombing. 209
210 During summation the government argued to the jury that Abouhalima helped Yousef and Salameh make the World Trade Center bomb at 40 Pamrapo. In support of this argument, the government relied in part on the testimony of two witnesses, Michael Felton and Carl Butler. These witnesses testified that a man fitting Abouhalima's description and driving a Lincoln Town Car frequented the 40 Pamrapo address and, on one occasion, was barking orders at Salameh and another individual while they were removing buckets from the premises. Although Abouhalima is correct that neither witness actually identified him at trial as this particular person, the government acknowledged during summation that Felton and Butler had not identified Abouhalima and simply asked the jury to draw the reasonable inference that the person described was Abouhalima. Consequently, we perceive no impropriety in the argument, let alone prejudice. 211
212 The government also did not improperly argue that Abouhalima had admitted his association with Yousef. The record reveals that shortly after Abouhalima was taken into custody, federal agents advised him that he was under arrest for his participation in the World Trade Center bombing. After advising him of his constitutional rights, agents questioned him about the 40 Pamrapo apartment. In response to this questioning, Abouhalima asked the agents whether they knew an individual by the name of 'Rashid.'  Because Yousef's nickname was Rashed, it appeared that Abouhalima had linked Yousef to the 40 Pamrapo apartment and the government's argument simply made this point. Given the broad latitude afforded both sides during summation, there was no impropriety in the government's argument because the inference sought was reasonable and Abouhalima remained free to argue his own interpretation of the testimony. Moreover, because Abouhalima did not object to this argument at trial, he must show flagrant abuse, which is simply not present here. 213
214 Finally, Abouhalima asserts that the government misrepresented the record by arguing that he gave no explanation for his nervousness the night after the bombing. We conclude that there was no misrepresentation. At trial, Moharam, a friend of Abouhalima, testified that Abouhalima was upset the night after the bombing and that when Moharam asked him why he was upset, Abouhalima initially said there had been an accident in which people got hurt. When Moharam then asked Abouhalima for details, Abouhalima replied, I can't tell you, and said nothing more. Accordingly, the prosecutor's argument was well supported by the evidence.
215 Abouhalima argues that during both opening statements and summation, the prosecutor sabotaged his right to a fair trial by appealing to the jury's fears and prejudicing them with the threat, based on no evidence, that they were charged with deciding guilt for the single most destructive act of terrorism ever committed here in the United States. We disagree. 216 Because the prosecutor's statement was amply supported by the evidence, we perceive no misconduct or prejudicial error. Specifically, the statement was supported by the letter the conspirators sent to the New York Times claiming responsibility, in which the conspirators identify their action as a similar response to the terrorism that Israel practices. The statement was also supported by the violence-advocating terrorist literature seized from Abouhalima's apartment after the bombing, literature that echoed the sentiments expressed in the letter. Further, given the magnitude of the World Trade Center bombing, the heinous nature of all crimes charged in the indictment, and the overwhelming evidence of the conspirators' joint motive for committing the bombing, the government's brief references to terrorism and the severity of the bombing during opening statements and summation were consistent with the trial evidence and Abouhalima's right to a fair trial.
217 Abouhalima argues that during rebuttal summation, a prosecutor improperly vouched for a witness. Specifically, according to the trial record, Ashraf Moneeb (the roommate of Salameh and Yousef at 251 Virginia Avenue) testified that one Mohammad Abouhalima had assisted Yousef and Salameh relocate to the 40 Pamrapo apartment. Because Abouhalima's first name is Mahmoud and not Mohammad, and because Abouhalima's brother is named Mohammed, Abouhalima argued during summation that Moneeb had testified to certain assistance rendered by his brother and not him. On rebuttal summation, Abouhalima claims that the prosecutor, in an attempt to discredit Abouhalima's argument, told the jury that he knew that the witness Moneeb meant to say that Mahmoud Abouhalima, and not his brother Mohammad, had helped Salameh and Yousef find the 40 Pamrapo apartment, and thus improperly vouched for Moneeb. 218 We find no support in the record for the proposition that the government engaged in vouching, and in any event conclude that the government's remarks did not deprive Abouhalima of a fair trial. A prosecutor must scrupulously refrain from injecting his credibility into any part of the trial. United States v. Damsky, 740 F.2d 134, 138 n. 3 (2d Cir.1984). The controlling question is whether the remarks of the prosecutor invaded the accused's right to a fair trial. United States v. Clark, 613 F.2d 391, 405 (2d Cir.1979). 219 A review of the argument and relevant testimony dispels the notion that the jury was asked to substitute the prosecutor's knowledge for the actual testimony. Specifically, in its main summation, the government reminded the jury that a witness, Ashraf Moneeb, testified that Yousef had told him that the appellant, Mahmoud Abouhalima had helped Yousef and Salameh find a new place to live. In Abouhalima's summation, Abouhalima pointed out that the transcript of Moneeb's testimony indicated that Yousef attributed that assistance to Abouhalima's brother, Mohammad Abouhalima. During rebuttal summation, the government argued that although the trial transcript did read Mohammad Abouhalima, the witness in fact had said Mahmud Abouhalima and the court reporter simply had made a mistake. As the prosecutor observed: 220 Obviously there was a mistake. If Mr. Moneeb had said Mohammad Abouhalima why would then [defendant Abouhalima's counsel] have [Moneeb] point out [the appellant] Mahmoud Abouhalima on his cross-examination which he did. 221 .... 222 I suggest to you that is a mistake and you know it is from all the other evidence. 223 The prosecutor then cataloged the array of proof confirming that Mahmoud Abouhalima (and not his brother Mohammad) had assisted Yousef and Salameh in obtaining the 40 Pamrapo apartment, evidence that included the balance of Moneeb's testimony and the voluminous telephone records linking Mahmoud Abouhalima with Salameh and Yousef just before the rental of the apartment. Further, the prosecutor noted that the telephone records reflected no calls to Mohammad Abouhalima. In sum, the record does not support Abouhalima's allegation of government vouching and, in any event, the prosecutor's remarks did not deprive Abouhalima of a fair trial.
224 Abouhalima contends that the government unconstitutionally shifted the burden of proof by commenting on his failure to introduce evidence and that the district court failed to deliver on its promise to administer a curative instruction. Specifically, during summation the government discussed the plethora of evidence linking Abouhalima to the bomb-making activities at 40 Pamrapo. In the discussion, the government reminded the jury that sulfuric acid, a component of nitroglycerine, had been detected on Abouhalima's dress shoes. Thereafter the prosecutor, in anticipation of Abouhalima's rebuttal, reviewed the alternative explanations for the presence of sulfuric acid that had been proffered by the defense through the cross-examination of a government chemist, including the theory that a possible source for the sulfuric acid was car batteries. In this regard, the prosecutor then argued: 225 But, again, there is no proof anywhere, there is no evidence before you at all that Mahmoud Abouhalima was ever near, underneath the hood of his car, anywhere near his battery, let alone the acid from within the battery. 226 The proof that is before you, the evidence in this case that he's at a bomb factory every night on a virtual day by day basis. And in that bomb factory, they're using sulfuric acid. And sure enough, he has sulfuric acid on his shoe. 227 Shortly after these remarks, Abouhalima objected and asked Judge Duffy to instruct the jury that despite the prosecutor's statement, the burden of proof is not on the defendant to prove that the stain on his shoe didn't come from some lawful means. Judge Duffy acquiesced, promising Abouhalima that he would take care of that in the charge for sure. 228 On appeal, Abouhalima maintains that the prosecutor's argument had the effect of placing the burden of proof on him to come forward with exculpatory evidence indicating an innocent source for the sulfuric acid. Moreover, Abouhalima avers that because the government had introduced evidence that Abouhalima was a limousine driver and thus routinely worked around cars and car batteries, the government's argument was not justified. The government responds that the prosecutor merely commented on the implausibility of Abouhalima's theories by juxtaposing the complete absence of any evidence that Abouhalima was ever near battery acid against proof that Abouhalima did frequent a place where sulfuric acid was being used, i.e., a bomb factory. Moreover, the government also maintains that the district court did honor its promise to give a curative instruction during the jury charge. 229 We conclude that the prosecutor's remarks did not violate Abouhalima's constitutional rights. The government is free to comment on the failure of defendant to refute government evidence or to support his own claims. Rosa, 11 F.3d at 342. A constitutional violation occurs only if either the defendant alone has the information to contradict the government evidence referred to or the jury naturally and necessarily would interpret the summation as comment on the failure of the accused to testify. United States v. Coven, 662 F.2d 162, 171 (2d Cir.1981) (quoting United States v. Bubar, 567 F.2d 192, 199 (2d Cir.1977) (internal quotation marks omitted)). 230 In the present case, Abouhalima does not argue that only he had information capable of rebutting the government's theory as to the source for the sulfuric acid stain. To the contrary, Abouhalima points to car batteries as the source and concedes that the trial evidence indicated that as a limousine driver, he routinely worked around car batteries containing sulfuric acid. Moreover, because the prosecutor did not speak to Abouhalima's failure to testify, but merely sought to discredit the defense's hypothetical explanation, it is implausible that a jury would interpret the summation as comment on Abouhalima's failure to testify. Accordingly, Abouhalima's constitutional rights were not violated. Furthermore, to the extent that the prosecutor's comments may have confused which party carried the burden of proof, the district court adequately cured any misunderstanding by charging the jury, without objection, on the appropriate burden of proof standard, re-emphasizing that standard at the conclusion of the charge. Accordingly, we conclude that there was no constitutional violation, misconduct, or prejudice requiring reversal, regardless of the district court's earlier promises.

231 Ajaj argues that the government's summation misrepresented the evidence, invited the jury to speculate, and was based on evidence the government knew or should have known to be false. 5 Specifically, Ajaj assails the government's argument that Ajaj facilitated Yousef's entry into the United States at Kennedy Airport. According to Ajaj, no testimony at trial established that Ajaj created a distraction or in any way affected the INS's processing of Yousef at Kennedy Airport. 232 Ajaj also argues that the government knowingly used false evidence of stamps on Ajaj's Jordanian passport to show that Ajaj traveled to the Middle East to obtain terrorist training. The passport, issued to Ajaj in August 1991, bore stamps indicating that Ajaj: (1) on May 16, 1992, left Pakistan and entered the United Arab Emirates; (2) traveled to Saudi Arabia later that month; (3) on June 13, 1992, exited the United Arab Emirates; and (4) on June 14, 1992, returned to Pakistan. The date of Ajaj's re-entry into Pakistan was corroborated by Ajaj's Pakistani Certificate of Registration, which also was dated June 14, 1992. At trial, the government alleged that Ajaj made the brief trip to Saudi Arabia in order to obtain a letter of introduction to Camp Khaldan, a terrorist training camp located on the AfghanistanPakistan border. The letter of introduction, dated May 21, 1992, requested that the leader of Camp Khaldan provide the bearer with training in the use of weapons and explosives. 233 Ajaj argues that the passport contained fraudulent stamps and was therefore an unreliable travel document. He contends that the government deliberately mistranslated or failed to translate several passport stamps in an effort to conceal their inauthenticity. For example, the government translated a Kuwaiti visa stamp issued on September 9, 1991 as a visit visa; in fact, properly translated, the stamp was a residence visa which, Ajaj argues, was impossible to obtain on that date as he was in the United States. Moreover, the government failed to translate the date of a Kuwaiti entry stamp, which, while partially obscured, is April 8th or 9th. Given that Ajaj's passport was issued in August 1991, that date would have to be April 8 or 9, 1992; Ajaj, however, was indisputably in Texas at that time. Ajaj argues that the government's own witness, INS inspector Mark Cozine, alerted the government to the defects in the passport when he testified at trial that the June 14, 1992, Pakistani entry stamp appeared to be counterfeit. Ajaj argues that the government, nevertheless, recklessly relied on the passport as evidence without confirming whether the passport stamps were authentic. 234 Furthermore, Ajaj argues that the government invited the jury to speculate as to his authorship of the handwritten notes in the notebooks. The government, which spared no expense during the trial, failed to obtain a handwriting expert and instead relied on the testimony of Carol Edelen, the government's fingerprint expert, to argue that Ajaj authored the notes in the handwritten manuals. Ajaj argues that the government deliberately failed to consult a handwriting expert and ignored the possibility that Ajaj did not author the handwritten notes. 235 Ajaj also argues that the government misrepresented to the jury that Ajaj lied to an Embassy official at the United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan. The government at trial argued that on July 1, 1992, after completing his terrorist training, Ajaj traveled to the United States Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, to inquire whether he could return lawfully to the United States. The government accused Ajaj of lying to Karen Stanton, an Embassy official, that he possessed a five-year visa that he had left at home in the United States. Stanton informed Ajaj that the Embassy could not assist him. Ajaj argues that no testimony at trial established that he had lied about a five-year visa and that he did in fact leave a visa in the United States. 236 On review, we conclude that the government's arguments were based squarely on the evidence and were within the bounds of the broad latitude the government is given to suggest reasonable inferences to the jury. See Zackson, 12 F.3d at 1183. Ajaj's contentions warrant only brief discussion. The government did not misrepresent that Ajaj had facilitated Yousef's entry into the United States at Kennedy Airport. At trial, Customs Inspector Malafronte testified that Ajaj, when questioned at Kennedy Airport about whether he was traveling with another, claimed to be traveling alone. Ajaj's lie, in conjunction with Ajaj's possession of the terrorist materials, provided a firm basis for the government to argue that Ajaj facilitated Yousef's entry into Kennedy Airport. Furthermore, the government's argument that Ajaj authored the notes in the handwritten manuals was based on Carol Edelen's fingerprint placement testimony, which the district court properly admitted. Ajaj presents no evidence of government malfeasance in failing to obtain a handwriting expert, nor does Ajaj offer an explanation for his own failure to consult one. 237 The government also was entitled to rely on Ajaj's passport as a travel document. Ajaj, beyond his own conjecture, presents no evidence to indicate that the government deliberately concealed irregularities in the passport stamps. In fact, the government's translation displayed discrepancies in the stamps that Attorney Campriello highlighted in summation to argue that the passport was unreliable as a travel document. Moreover, even assuming that a proper government translation would have revealed the apparent inauthenticity of several stamps, these irregularities would not have undermined the reliability of the passport as a whole. The specific United Arab Emirates and Pakistani stamps on which the government relied to argue that Ajaj traveled in the Middle East did not bear apparent indicia of inauthenticity. Indeed, the authenticity of those stamps was corroborated by Ajaj's Pakistani Certificate of Registration, which was issued on June 14, 1992, and which corresponded to the June 13 United Arab Emirates exit stamp and the June 14 Pakistani entry stamp in the passport. The authenticity of these stamps also was corroborated by Ajaj's statement to Karen Stanton at the United States Embassy in Islamabad that as of July 1, 1992, Ajaj had been in Pakistan for only a few weeks. 6 Although the government may have argued erroneously in summation that Ajaj lied to Karen Stanton at the United States Embassy about the location of a five-year visa, Ajaj did not object to this argument at trial. This point was of minor relevance to the government's case and hardly amounts to flagrant abuse.
238 Ajaj argues that the government prejudicially attacked the defense during its summation. The government, at various points during its rebuttal summation, criticized Attorney Campriello for lacking common decency, trying to be cutesy, attempting to foist an opinion on the jury, and selling the jury a bill of goods. The government also stated that Campriello's attempt to discredit the government's fingerprint expert, Carol Edelen, by likening her to Pinocchio, was despicable, that Campriello's arguments were preposterous and that Campriello made up testimony and ignored the evidence. Ajaj also argues that the government prejudicially accused Ajaj of lying to Karen Stanton at the United States Embassy and to INS inspectors at Kennedy Airport. 239 [R]eversal on the basis of improper prosecutorial statements during summation is warranted only when the statements, viewed against the entire argument before the jury, deprived the defendant of a fair trial. Myerson, 18 F.3d at 163 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). We have repeatedly held that the Government is ordinarily permitted to respond to arguments impugning the integrity of its case and to reply with rebutting language suitable to the occasion. United States v. Bagaric, 706 F.2d 42, 60 (2d Cir.1983) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). A reviewing court must not only weigh the impact of the prosecutor's remarks, but must also take into account defense counsel's opening salvo. United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 12, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985). As Ajaj failed to object at trial to the government's purported attacks on the defense, we review the government's summation for flagrant abuse. 240 On review, we conclude that any improper conduct by the government was largely in response to Attorney Campriello's criticisms of the government's case and, in any event, did not rise to the level of flagrant abuse. Attorney Campriello had, at various points during his summation, referred to the government's arguments as ridiculous, characterized the government's fingerprint expert, Carol Edelen, as Pinocchio, and belittled the prosecutors by referring to them repeatedly by their first name only. Attorney Campriello also remarked that the weakness of the government's evidence required the prosecutors to do a little slipping and sliding, a little bobbing, weaving, a little zigging and zaggin[g] as the case developed. In light of Attorney Campriello's criticisms, the government was entitled to respond with similar language in rebuttal.
241 Ajaj argues that the government wrongfully shifted its theory of Ajaj's criminal liability during its summation. See United States v. Russo, 74 F.3d 1383, 1396 (2d Cir.) (improper for prosecutor to introduce a new theory of criminal liability at the last minute of a long trial), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 293, 136 L.Ed.2d 213 (1996); United States v. Gleason, 616 F.2d 2, 25-26 (2d Cir.1979). According to Ajaj, at the commencement of trial, the government argued that Ajaj's role in the bombing conspiracy was to provide explosives expertise. In this regard, the government asserted that Ahmad Ajaj ... brought the formula to make explosive materials that was the bomb into this country when he entered this country last September. The government further asserted that Ajaj, in conjunction with Ramzi Yousef, was to supply essentially the recipe, the know-how, the expertise that was needed to carry out this terrorist conspiracy. According to Ajaj, the government shifted its theory in summation, however, and argued that Ajaj's role in the conspiracy was to sacrifice himself for Yousef's benefit at Kennedy Airport. The government stated: What is Ajaj doing denying he knows Ramzi Yousef? Basically, he's sacrificing himself. If he got caught, he's going to get Ramzi Yousef--he's going to keep attention away from Ramzi Yousef, so that Ramzi Yousef can get into the country. The government later stated: [Ajaj] c[a]me here with his partner Ramzi Yousef to do the same thing that Ramzi Yousef did. They traveled together. [Ajaj] sprung Ramzi Yousef into the country, and he did everything he could to help Ramzi Yousef after he got here. He did that because the evidence shows that he was part of the conspiracy. Ajaj argues that in conjunction with this unexpected shift in theory, the government, without any prior indication that it would do so, argued that Ajaj authored the notes in the handwritten notebooks and used Ajaj's passport as evidence of his travel to Saudi Arabia to obtain the letter of introduction. Ajaj contends that he was unprepared to meet these new arguments. 242 Ajaj's contentions are meritless. The government's theory of Ajaj's criminal liability was consistent throughout its opening statement and summation. At the outset of the trial, the government argued that Ajaj traveled to the Middle East to obtain explosives expertise and that Ajaj's vital role in this conspiracy was to reenter the United States with the terrorist materials. In summation, the government accordingly argued that Ajaj traveled overseas to obtain terrorist training and facilitated Yousef's entry into the United States by relieving Yousef of the terrorist materials. Contrary to Ajaj's argument, Attorney Campriello's summation reflects that he was well advised of the government's theory of Ajaj's criminal liability. During his summation, Attorney Campriello, among other rebuttal points, quoted extensively from INS inspector Mark Cozine's trial testimony in an effort to demonstrate that Ajaj in no way affected the INS's decision to release Yousef. 243 Furthermore, far from being unprepared to meet the government's new arguments that Ajaj's passport was evidence of his travel to Saudi Arabia and that Ajaj authored the notes in the handwritten notebooks, Attorney Campriello effectively rebutted the government's contentions with arguments that are now, ironically, echoed on appeal. With respect to the passport, Attorney Campriello argued that the presence of a number of demonstrably fraudulent stamps in the passport undermined the reliability of the passport as a whole. Furthermore, Attorney Campriello questioned the government's reliance on the testimony of a fingerprint expert to infer that Ajaj authored the handwritten notes. Attorney Campriello reminded the jury that the government had failed to obtain the testimony of a handwriting expert. In sum, the government did not unfairly raise new theories of Ajaj's guilt during summation.