Opinion ID: 3158883
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Disparaging Remarks

Text: {¶ 84} Johnson also alleges that prosecutorial misconduct occurred when the prosecutor made a disparaging remark about Marian Faulkner, Johnson’s grandmother, during cross-examination. {¶ 85} In 2011, Faulkner testified about her problems with alcohol while she was raising Johnson and his brother. Faulkner said that alcohol was more important to her than the children. She carried a flask with her everywhere, drove drunk, experienced blackouts, and beat Johnson if he bothered her during a hangover. Faulkner testified that although she did not realize it at the time, she was probably “a drunk” while she was raising Johnson. {¶ 86} On cross-examination, the prosecutor pointed out that Faulkner had never mentioned having an alcohol problem when she testified in 1998 about Johnson’s upbringing. According to Faulkner, she did not say anything about her alcoholism then because no one had asked. {¶ 87} The prosecutor then questioned Faulkner extensively, impeaching her with her 1998 testimony. In that context, the following exchange occurred: [Prosecutor]: M’am, don’t get me wrong. I think you are a very good lady, and I said that to you on the stand last time you testified. But I also believe that you will say anything to try to get this jury to ignore their oath. A: I wouldn’t just say anything. [Defense counsel]: I would object to that. A: I wouldn’t say anything. I’m going to tell the truth. 21 SUPREME COURT OF OHIO The court: It’s cross-examination. Johnson argues that the prosecutor’s remark was disparaging and amounted to prosecutorial misconduct. {¶ 88} Here, the prosecutor’s comment—“I    believe that you will say anything to try to get this jury to ignore their oath”—followed a lengthy impeachment of Faulkner. The prosecutor had effectively established significant differences between her testimony in 1998 and 2011. As a result, he was in a position to question Faulkner about her truthfulness as a witness. See, e.g., State v. Mason, 82 Ohio St.3d 144, 161, 694 N.E.2d 932 (1998). However, the prosecutor should have reserved any such comment for closing argument, not injected it into the middle of cross-examination. And the trial court could easily have cured this impropriety by promptly instructing the jurors that they were the sole judges of Faulkner’s credibility. Instead, the court overruled defense counsel’s objection. {¶ 89} Johnson claims that the comment “effectively foreclosed the jury’s consideration of mitigating evidence proffered by Johnson.” But the prosecutor’s statement did not prejudice Johnson when considered “in the context of the entire trial.” Keenan, 66 Ohio St.3d at 410, 613 N.E.2d 203. The prosecutor’s remark did undermine the defense’s new mitigation evidence that Johnson was raised by an alcoholic. However, it did not foreclose the jury’s consideration of Faulkner’s testimony. Indeed, Faulkner promptly denied the prosecutor’s assertion. She told the jury, “I wouldn’t just say anything” before defense counsel could even object to the statement. She further insisted, “I wouldn’t say anything. I’m going to tell the truth.” (Emphasis added.) And when the prosecutor discussed the inconsistencies in Faulkner’s testimony during closing arguments, he expressly advised the jurors that they were the sole judges of witness credibility. The trial court’s jury instructions reiterated the same point. 22 January Term, 2015 {¶ 90} Considered in context, it is unlikely that the prosecutor’s comment misled the jury or significantly diminished the strength of Faulkner’s evidence about Johnson’s childhood. The inconsistencies between Faulkner’s testimony in 1998 and 2011 would have been apparent to the jurors even without the prosecutor’s remark. We therefore hold that this did not amount to prosecutorial misconduct.