Opinion ID: 1508742
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Archie's Claim of Prosecutorial Misconduct

Text: Archie contends that the Superior Court abused its discretion by denying his motion for a mistrial on the ground that one of the prosecutor's questions was argumentative and improper. During the State's cross-examination of Archie, the following colloquy occurred: (Q) You are the person who has been convicted of crimes involving deceit and dishonesty before, aren't you? (A) Yes. (Q) But they [the jury] should buy your story? Archie's counsel immediately objected on the ground that the question was argumentative, and he asked for a curative instruction. The court then instructed the jury that it was striking the comment from the record. At sidebar, defense counsel requested a mistrial and the State withdrew the question. The court denied the mistrial, stating that a curative instruction would cure any possible error. The court then stated to the jury: Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury, the fact that the defendant has been convicted of a felony or crime involving dishonesty, if such be a fact, may be considered by you for only one purpose, namely, in judging the credibility of the defendant. The fact of such a conviction does not necessarily destroy or impair the defendant's credibility, and it does not raise an inference that the defendant has testified falsely. It is simply one of the circumstances that you may take into consideration in weighing the testimony of the defendant. Proof of a prior conviction on the part of the defendant must not and shall not be considered by you in determining the guilt or innocence of the defendant, but may only be considered in judging the defendant's credibility. On appeal, Archie argues that the prosecutor asked the question solely to place before the jury his opinion of Archie's credibility. We hold that, although the prosecutor's comment was improper, the Superior Court did not abuse its discretion by refusing to grant a mistrial. The court properly issued a curative instruction, thus negating any prejudice to Archie's trial rights. This Court has adopted a three-pronged test to evaluate the effect of improper comments made at trial. The factors are: (1) the closeness of the case; (2) the centrality of the issue affected by the alleged error; and (3) the steps taken to mitigate the effects of the error. [1] Archie has not met this test in his claim that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion for mistrial. First, the State's case against Archie was strong. The evidence consisted of direct testimony from the victim buttressed by circumstantial evidence, including the note, physical findings at the apartment, and evidence of the surrounding events as corroborated by other witnesses. Second, the alleged error was not central to the case. In fact, defense counsel previously had introduced Archie's prior convictions on direct examination. Thus, the fact that Archie had been convicted of dishonesty crimes was not the key issue for the jury. Finally, the court properly struck the question from the record and issued a curative instruction. [2] Even when a prosecutor commits prejudicial error, it will usually be cured by the trial judge's instruction to the jury to disregard the remarks. [3] Under these circumstances, the trial judge, who was in the best position to judge the impact of improper questions in the context of the trial, did not abuse his discretion by refusing the motion for mistrial. [4]