Opinion ID: 1288191
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Alleged Improper Use of Criminal History

Text: During closing argument, the prosecutor described how the police had gone about identifying suspects and said that police knew Daren Bolton was a kid who frequently hung out in this neighborhood, and, in fact, he had a sex-related conviction from the location of Speedway and Country Club, not far from where [the victim] was kidnapped. At the close of argument, defendant moved for a mistrial because the prosecution had used his prior conviction to argue for his guilt instead of for the proper purpose of impeachment. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for mistrial. We do not believe it reasonably likely that the prosecutor's reference to defendant's prior conviction had any effect on the jury's verdict. By the time of closing arguments, evidence of defendant's prior conviction for kidnapping and sexual abuse had been admitted, which alone distinguishes this case from all the cases that defendant cites in his opening brief. See, e.g., State v. Holsinger, 124 Ariz. 18, 21, 601 P.2d 1054, 1057 (1979) (holding that it was reversible error to imply that the defendant had a long criminal record when she in fact did not); State v. Neil, 102 Ariz. 299, 300, 428 P.2d 676, 677 (1967) (holding that it was reversible error to comment on defendant's record when no evidence of prior convictions had been admitted); State v. McGill, 101 Ariz. 320, 321, 419 P.2d 499, 500 (1966) (holding that it was error to call defendant an addict where there was no competent evidence that he had used drugs habitually or had been convicted of a drug offense). The trial court here instructed the jury on the proper use of defendant's prior convictions immediately before argument began, and the prosecutor reinforced the instruction during her argument. We do not believe the prosecutor's reference to defendant's prior conviction affected the outcome of the trial.