Opinion ID: 2417351
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Statements During Juror Voir Dire

Text: Tokar assigns error to an analogy offered by the prosecutor during voir dire questioning of the first of two venire panels. The prosecutor described a hallway having three doors, through which the jurors had to proceed during Tokar's guilt and penalty phases. The first door represented the State's burden of proof regarding the defendant's guilt. The second door represented the State's burden of proof regarding the existence of at least one aggravating circumstance that warrants the death penalty. If the State met its burden of proof at the first two doors, the third and final door would have represented a decision on a sentence of death. Tokar argues that the prosecutor's description of the jurors' duties does not sufficiently include mitigating circumstances and the weighing of those against aggravating circumstances. Tokar alleges both ineffective assistance of counsel for not objecting during the voir dire and plain error. Appellant waived the ineffective assistance claim when not raised in his pro se 29.15 motion or post-conviction counsel's amended 29.15 motion. Rule 29.15(d); State v. Twenter, 818 S.W.2d 628, 641 (Mo. banc 1991). The plain error rule is to be used sparingly and may not be used to justify a review of every point that has not been otherwise preserved for appellate review. State v. Ervin, 835 S.W.2d 905, 920 (Mo. banc 1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 954, 113 S.Ct. 1368, 122 L.Ed.2d 746 (1993). Appellant must make a demonstration that manifest injustice or a miscarriage of justice will occur if the error is not corrected. State v. Parker, 856 S.W.2d 331, 333 (Mo. banc 1993). The burden is on the defendant to prove the decisive significance of improper argument before a conviction will be reversed. Id. In this case, both the prosecutor and defense counsel explained that mitigating and aggravating circumstances would be involved in the sentencing decision. Considering the analogy with the closing arguments as a whole, there was no plain error in explaining the jurors' decision-making process in this way. See §§ 565.030 and 565.032. The point is denied.