Opinion ID: 1679195
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: closing argument comment regarding marital privilege

Text: Fahlk asserts that the Court of Appeals erred in holding that Fahlk failed to preserve any error for appellate review arising from the State's reference to the assertion of the marital privilege in its closing argument. This assignment of error arises out of the inconsistent testimony of the defendant's daughter, Nicole Fahlk. During direct examination, Nicole testified that her father did not bring a computer printer to her dorm on August 23, 1991. However, earlier in her testimony, Nicole had stated that her father came to her dorm a few weeks after school started and exchanged a gray printer for a white printer. The Fahlk family printer was white. The school district's printer was gray. During cross-examination, Nicole stated that her father had delivered the white printer to her dorm room on the day she moved in. The prosecutor, during his rebuttal closing argument for the State, commented: Poor Nicole got to go home tonight, but she said [sic] up here and testified that her dad only came down there two times with printers; once after Labor Daywe all know when Labor Day isand once on April 5. He didn't come down there on the 23rd. If he did, there was a third person who's [sic] there. You didn't hear from the third person, did you? It's Mrs. Fahlk. Fahlk's counsel timely objected and was overruled. The court denied Fahlk's request to admonish the jury. Comment regarding the assertion of marital privilege is prosecutorial misconduct. The claim of a privilege is not a permissible subject of comment by judge or counsel. Neb.Evid.R. 513, Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-513 (Reissue 1989). However, Fahlk failed to preserve for appellate review any error arising from the prosecutor's misconduct. `When a party has knowledge during trial of irregularity or misconduct, he must timely assert his right to a mistrial.' State v. Morrow, 237 Neb. 653, 661, 467 N.W.2d 63, 69 (1991) (quoting State v. Archbold, 217 Neb. 345, 350 N.W.2d 500 (1984)). One may not waive an error, gamble on a favorable result, and, upon obtaining an unfavorable result, assert the previously waived error. State v. Myers, 244 Neb. 905, 915, 510 N.W.2d 58, 67 (1994). Fahlk's failure to move for a mistrial waived any error resulting from the prosecutor's misconduct.