Opinion ID: 1815282
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: was defendant denied a fair trial and did the trial court abuse its discretion when it denied motions for mistrial premised on alleged instances of prosecutorial misconduct?

Text: Defendant contends he was denied his constitutional right to a fair trial under the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and S.D. Const. art. VI, § 2, because of various alleged instances of prosecutorial misconduct. These alleged instances of misconduct are: (1) in response to a discovery motion, the prosecutor filed two documents in the court filewhich is open to public inspectionwhich outlined the State's evidence, and because of the resulting publicity, a change of venue was necessary; (2) the prosecutor notified the defendant of the State's intent to seek the death penaltythus resulting in a death-qualified jurybut following the return of the guilty verdict, the prosecutor waived the death penalty; (3) the prosecutor introduced a prejudicial tape recording and then failed to connect it with foundational evidence as required by the trial court; (4) during cross-examination of the defendant, the prosecutor improperly suggested facts and posed improper questions; and (5) the prosecutor made an improper comment to the jury and elicited evidence concerning the possibility of plea bargains. Defendant objected to the above occurrences and made numerous motions for dismissal and mistrial. The trial court, however, denied defendant's motions and when appropriate, it struck the testimony or evidence and admonished the jury to disregard the same. The State advances various reasons and rationales for the above occurrences and asserts that none constitute prosecutorial misconduct or prejudicial error. We note that ruling on a motion for mistrial is within the trial court's discretion, State v. Disbrow, 266 N.W.2d 246, 252 (S.D.1978); that an actual showing of prejudice must exist to justify the granting of a mistrial, State v. High Elk, 298 N.W.2d 87, 89 (S.D.1980); and that we will not disturb the trial court's ruling on a motion for mistrial unless we are convinced there was a clear abuse of discretion. State v. Kidd, 286 N.W.2d 120, 122 (S.D.1979). Here, given the length of the trial, the isolated nature of some of the objectionable occurrences, the context in which they transpired, the arguable basis therefor, the corrective procedures implemented, the cumulative nature of some of the objectionable matters which are supported by other competent evidence, the insignificance of the alleged errors when compared to the evidence of defendant's guilt, and the absence of a clear showing of prosecutorial bad faith, we conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying defendant's motions for mistrial. We conclude the defendant received a fair trial as required by our state and federal constitutions. It is not required that defendant receive a perfect trial, only that he receive a fair trial. Brown v. United States, 411 U.S. 223, 231-32, 93 S.Ct. 1565, 1570, 36 L.Ed.2d 208, 215 (1973).