Opinion ID: 2581989
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 18

Heading: Issue Six: Prosecutorial comment during closing argument

Text: [¶ 99] Duke contends that he was denied a fair trial because the prosecutors impermissibly injected their personal beliefs as to his credibility by belittling his trial testimony and repeatedly telling the jury that he lied. With respect to claims of prosecutorial misconduct, this Court has stated: Prosecutorial misconduct has always been condemned in this state. Earll v. State, 2001 WY 66, ¶ 9, 29 P.3d 787, ¶ 9 (Wyo. 2001) (quoting Valerio v. State, 527 P.2d 154, 156 (Wyo.1974)). Whether such misconduct has been reviewed on the basis of harmless error, W.R.Cr.P. 52(a) and W.R.A.P. 9.04, or on the basis of plain error, W.R.Cr.P. 52(b) and W.R.A.P. 9.05, this Court has focused on whether such error affected the accused's substantial rights. The accused's right to a fair trial is a substantial right. Before we hold that an error has affected an accused's substantial right, thus requiring reversal of a conviction, we must conclude that, based on the entire record, a reasonable possibility exists that, in the absence of the error, the verdict might have been more favorable to the accused. Earll, at ¶ 9. Simmons v. State, 2003 WY 84, ¶ 15, 72 P.3d 803, ¶ 15 (Wyo.2003) (quoting Williams, at ¶ 21); see also Wilks v. State, 2002 WY 100, ¶ 26, 49 P.3d 975, ¶ 26 (Wyo.2002); O'Brien v. State, 2002 WY 63, ¶ 35, 45 P.3d 225, ¶ 35 (Wyo.2002). [¶ 100] Claims of prosecutorial misconduct are settled by reference to the entire record and hinge on whether the accused's case has been so prejudiced as to constitute the denial of a fair trial. English v. State, 982 P.2d 139, 143 (Wyo.1999) (quoting Gayler v. State, 957 P.2d 855, 860 (Wyo. 1998); Arevalo v. State, 939 P.2d 228, 230 (Wyo.1997)). The propriety of any comment within a closing argument is judged in the context of the prosecutor's entire argument, considering the context of the statements and comparing them with the evidence produced at the trial. Wilks, at ¶ 26 (citing Burton v. State, 2002 WY 71, ¶ 11, 46 P.3d 309, ¶ 11 (Wyo.2002)). The burden of proving prejudicial error rests with the appellant. Wilks, at ¶ 26; see also Taylor, at ¶ 19; Tennant v. State, 786 P.2d 339, 346 (Wyo.1990). [¶ 101] Where, as in this case, no objection is raised at trial to the prosecutor's alleged misconduct, the standard of review is plain error, which demands: First, the record must be clear as to the incident which is alleged as error. Second, the party claiming the error amounted to plain error must demonstrate that a clear and unequivocal rule of law was violated. Finally, that party must prove a substantial right has been denied him and, as a result, he has been materially prejudiced. Wilks, at ¶ 7 (quoting Worcester, at ¶ 7). [¶ 102] Duke identifies several isolated comments by the prosecutors during closing and rebuttal closing arguments and asserts that they were improper and constituted misconduct. As noted above, Duke did not object to those comments and, therefore, bears the burden of demonstrating plain error in order to succeed on his claim. [¶ 103] The first element of the plain error standard is satisfied because the record clearly reveals the alleged misconduct. Following are the prosecutors' remarks in the context in which they were made during closing and rebuttal closing arguments (emphasis added): Let's look for a few minutes, ladies and gentlemen, to the Defendant's statements made to various witnesses about the events of August 1996.     Dawn Gunter, her husband, the cliff gives way. That's May or June of 1998. He can't get down. His son is wheezing blood. Here's a new one. He spends the time waiting for the ambulance doing what? Picking up the rest of the toys. That's what he tells Dawn Gunter. It goes on, ladies and gentlemen, and we know, of course, that his statements to Mr. and Mrs. Gunter are lies. The rocks did not give away. Dr. Miller told you those rocks had not been disturbed for 30 to 40 years. ... We know the Defendant lied about the cliff giving way, just like we know the Defendant would lie about putting a lattice up on the Anvil Street Apartments. The owner of those apartments came in and talked to you and told you that that lattice went up by the current resident last year, not by the Defendant years ago. The Defendant would lie to help himself. He will lie about ever even seeing Cynthia Smith, the federal court officer who certainly remembered him, whose job it was to interview him to make a report and a recommendation to a judge. Now, why would he deny her existence? Because he told her in Texas in 1999, he thinks he's safe in Texas, he's a long ways away from here, his wife had died in an accident following an argument, and then he even denies the existence of his son. What possible reason would Ms. Smith, a court officer, have perjuring herself in front of you? The one thing that he was consistent in was this lie about not being able to get down to the bodies. He told everybody that. He told them that from the very start, on and on and on, and yet, he knew every time he told that lie that it was a lie, because he had seen the EMTs walk down there, he had seen the firemen walk down there, he had seen them walk back up carrying the dead bodies of his family, and yet, he continued to say to everybody, even after seeing that, I couldn't get down. There's no way. It was too steep. I couldn't do it. He kept that lie up for years. But then, of course, he's already told you that he'll do whatever it takes to get himself the best deal possible, to help himself, and that would include telling a federal district judge a story to get a good deal, and so imagine what he would tell you in the situation he's in now.     Let me ask you thisthink about this. You know, the State, we can tell Crystal Carter to commit perjury, and apparently she will, and if weif we can do that and with all our great resources and all our great power that he likes to talk about, we can tell Roger to lie and he'll say whatever we want to hear, how come if [Duke's] whole thing depends upon him telling you that he had never been to the top of that cliff before, how come Roger didn't testify to that? Because when we asked Roger whether he had been up there before with [Duke], he said, I can't be sure. Maybe we were, maybe we weren't. I can't be sure. Dayton took him out there to see if he could be sure, and he comes back under oath and he says, I can't be sure. If we can force everybody to say whatever we want them to say, how come our main witness doesn't help us on a critical point in the case? I would submit to you because it's one of two things; either Crystal's lying and practically everyone else that we called is either lying or mistaken, and so that would entail a lot of different people coming in with no real motivation to subject themselves to penalty of perjury, telling lies on the Defendant, or the other explanation is the Defendant is lying, and I would submit to you that you have all the evidence in the world to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that he is, in fact, lying. [¶ 104] However, when the prosecutors' comments are viewed in their entirety and in the context of the entire trial, it is clear that the second element of the plain error analysis, the requirement to show a violation of a clear and unequivocal rule of law, has not been satisfied. The State argues that, by making those statements, the prosecutors were not attempting to induce the jurors to base their factual determinations on the prosecutors' personal beliefs or opinions, as Duke suggests. Rather, the State continues, the prosecutors were merely pointing out that the evidence and the testimony of the prosecution's witnesses contradicted that of Duke and expressing the prosecution's position upon inferences to be drawn from that testimony and the other evidence presented at trial. We agree. Argument of this nature is not erroneous but has been sanctioned by decisions of this Court. Beaugureau v. State, 2002 WY 160, ¶ 14, 56 P.3d 626, ¶ 14 (Wyo.2002); Dike v. State, 990 P.2d 1012, 1025-26 (Wyo.1999); Barela v. State, 787 P.2d 82, 83-84 (Wyo.1990). In Dike, this Court declared: This Court has held that the purpose of closing arguments is to afford counsel the opportunity to explain the significance of the evidence and how it should be viewed by the jury. Harper v. State, 970 P.2d 400, 403 (Wyo.1998). During closing arguments, counsel may assist the jury by reflecting upon the evidence and drawing reasonable inferences that logically flow from the evidence. Gayler, 957 P.2d at 861. When the jury is presented with contradictory testimony, counsel is allowed to communicate the reasonable inference that one of the witnesses is lying. Barela v. State, 787 P.2d 82, 84 (Wyo.1990). Dike, 990 P.2d at 1026. [¶ 105] Duke recognizes the force of the holding in Dike but urges this Court to overrule that decision. He complains that to call a witness a liar is inflammatory and prejudicial and suggests that closing arguments be limited to observations that someone was not being completely accurate, which would be a reasonable inference. However, we shall not abandon the Dike rule, which was based on this Court's decision in Barela, 787 P.2d at 83-84, and which has since been reaffirmed in Beaugureau, at ¶ 14. [¶ 106] The issue to be decided in this case is whether the prosecutors' comments amounted to plain error. Duke cannot show plain error because to do so requires him to demonstrate that an unequivocal rule of law was violated in a clear and obvious way. The clear and unequivocal rule of law applicable here is the rule expressed in Barela, Dike, and Beaugureau, which supports the closing remarks made by the prosecutors. [¶ 107] Because Duke does not establish plain error, he cannot prevail on his claim that the prosecutors committed reversible error in closing arguments. There is no basis for this Court to examine whether to reject the Dike rule. In order for a party to challenge an established rule of law on appeal and urge that this Court abandon that rule of law, the challenge should be initiated in the trial court, at the earliest opportunity, and the issue preserved for appeal. This Court has consistently held that it will not entertain issues raised for the first time on appeal unless they are jurisdictional issues or issues of such a fundamental nature that they must be considered. Beaugureau, at ¶ 11 (citing Bell v. State, 994 P.2d 947, 957 (Wyo.2000)); see also Bailey v. State, 12 P.3d 173, 177-79 (Wyo.2000). Duke's request does not fall within those requirements. [¶ 108] The prosecutors' remarks during closing arguments were not improper and did not constitute reversible plain error under existing Wyoming law.