Opinion ID: 1518773
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: was the commonwealth's guilt phase closing argument unduly prejudicial?

Text: Appellant contends that the prosecutor's closing argument during the guilt phase of the trial contained ten improper comments requiring reversal of his convictions. In analyzing claims of improper argument, this Court must determine whether the conduct was of such an `egregious' nature as to deny the accused his constitutional right of due process of law. Slaughter v. Commonwealth, Ky., 744 S.W.2d 407, 411 (1987), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1113, 109 S.Ct. 3174, 104 L.Ed.2d 1036 (1989). The required analysis, by an appellate court, must focus on the overall fairness of the trial, and not the culpability of the prosecutor. Id. at 411-12. Both counsel are permitted great leeway in closing argument. Id. at 412. We have reviewed the errors alleged and, of the ten, only three deserve detailed discussion, the remainder having no merit whatsoever. The first statement by the prosecutor at issue was in reference to the deposition testimony of Crockett Stevens. The prosecutor told the jury that they had a chance to look at every witness with the exception of the sole person who accused anybody else other that Bob Foley [i.e., Stevens], asking rhetorically why Stevens could not have appeared in person at the trial. The argument then emphasized the importance of the jurors' evaluation of the veracity of each witness and repeated that Stevens was the only witness not personally present. Appellant contends that this statement implied that the defense had done something improper in using the deposition of Stevens or was trying to hide something. Additionally, Appellant argues that these comments improperly imply that a deposition has less evidentiary value than live testimony. The Commonwealth responds that each statement is in fact true; that is, a reading of the Stevens deposition reveals that Stevens testified that he had not been subpoenaed and said that only his health or financial reasons might prevent his live testimony at trial, that Stevens was the only witness to accuse someone other than Appellant of these crimes, and that there was simply no argument or implication that a deposition has less value that a live witness. As this Court stated in Slaughter , [a] prosecutor may comment on tactics, may comment on evidence, and may comment as to the falsity of a defense position. We find that the remarks referred to here were well within the proper bounds of a closing argument and certainly did not affect the outcome of the trial. Id. Appellant also takes issue with the prosecutor's statement that he believed the prosecution witnesses to be honest and pointing out that their testimony had not been challenged. This, it is contended, constituted improper bolstering of witness credibility. Armstrong v. Commonwealth, Ky., 517 S.W.2d 233, 236 (1974). While bolstering is indeed improper, it did not occur in this case. The prosecutor said of the witnesses, Were they honest? I believe so, but that's your judge, apparently meaning that their honesty is for the jury to judge. This is clearly a correct statement of the law, so fundamental as to require no citation of authority. Additionally, the statements by the prosecutor were responsive to an argument made by defense counsel, wherein he described almost every witness presented by the Commonwealth as either dishonest or as having flat out lied. As an invited response, the prosecutor's comments do not warrant reversal. United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985). Finally, Appellant contends that the prosecutor improperly castigated the defense counsel for speculating on certain matters. Examples of the matters at issue are whether Watts' children slept through the killings, whether Watts and Canter created the story to set up Appellant, why Watts moved from the Gross property when she did, and whether the cabin burned after she moved out to cover evidence. Appellant relies upon the holding in People v. Bean, 109 Ill.2d 80, 92 Ill.Dec. 538, 485 N.E.2d 349 (1985), wherein that court held that [a] defendant is entitled to be tried by an unbiased jury and to be judged on the merits of his case, not on the unsubstantiated personal opinion which the prosecutor holds of the defense attorney's ethics and abilities. Id. 92 Ill.Dec. at 548, 485 N.E.2d at 359. The Commonwealth contends that these statements were perfectly permissible as they were made in response to arguments set forth in the closing of Appellant and were not so egregious as to warrant reversal as a denial of due process. We agree. When viewed in the totality of the circumstances, the closing argument was proper and did not render the trial fundamentally unfair. Summitt v. Bordenkircher, 608 F.2d 247 (6th Cir.1979), cert. granted sub nom. Watkins v. Bordenkircher, 445 U.S. 926, 100 S.Ct. 1312, 63 L.Ed.2d 759 (1980), aff'd sub nom. Watkins v. Sowders, 449 U.S. 341, 101 S.Ct. 654, 66 L.Ed.2d 549 (1981); Slaughter, supra .