Opinion ID: 698644
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Raynice Thompson's closing argument

Text: 89 In her final argument, counsel for Raynice Thompson asserted that, because Jeffrey and Raynice Thompson had not been observed by police surveillance cameras in early 1988, the government's case against them was weak and contradictory. In response, the prosecutor explained that the Thompsons had not been the subjects of police surveillance in early 1988 because the government was unaware of their involvement in the conspiracy until early 1989, when Sellers and Zanville were arrested. 90 Appellants contend that this statement impermissibly referred to evidence before the grand jury. As the government notes, however, the prosecutor's statement referred only to the arrests of Sellers and Zanville, not to the content of grand jury testimony. Moreover, it merely offered an alternative explanation for the lack of photographs that Raynice Thompson's lawyer referred to in her closing argument. So once again, we reject the claim that the prosecutor committed an error in his closing statement that substantially prejudiced one or more of the appellants.