Opinion ID: 2049573
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: prosecutor: we don't bring cases unless we're sure

Text: Prior to trial defendant had been released following failure of the eyewitness to positively identify him at the initial lineup, and was only brought back into custody following a detective's interview with the accomplice. In his rebuttal summation to the jury, the prosecutor stated: [T]he Detroit Police Department, the detectives in the Homicide Bureau, these detectives you see in court today, and myself from the Prosecutor's Office, we don't bring cases unless we're sure, unless we're positive. So the Defendant, Mr. McCoy, was let go at that time because the evidence wasn't enough to be positive. That's why he was arrested a month later because a month later the evidence was positive. We understand that the prosecutor was faced with the problem of answering defendant's argument concerning his initial release. He claims he was speaking to the question of identification, and not guilt. However, even viewed in this favorable light, his remarks were less than proper.