Opinion ID: 1185941
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Comments by the Prosecutor Regarding Dorman's Silence upon Arrest.

Text: The prosecutor, in the rebuttal portion of his closing argument, commented that the jury should infer guilt from the fact that Dorman remained silent between the time of his arrest and the time he was advised of his Miranda rights, a span of about eight minutes. [9] Dorman asserts that these comments violated his constitutional right to remain silent to avoid self-incrimination. [10] The remarks in question referred to testimony of one of the arresting officers elicited both by the prosecution on direct examination and by the defense on cross-examination. Defense counsel made no objection to the testimony at that time, and expressly mentioned Dorman's Miranda rights during cross-examination, indicating an awareness of the constitutional right involved. Defense counsel likewise made no objection to the remarks themselves in the closing argument, asked for no cautionary instruction, and made no motion for mistrial at the appropriate time. Neither the issue of the testimony nor the closing argument was mentioned in the motion for a new trial. The point was first raised on appeal as an amendment to the original statement of points on appeal, apparently after Dorman had changed counsel. Under the doctrine of plain error embodied in Alaska Rule of Criminal Procedure 47(b), [11] this court will not take notice of an error not brought to the attention of the trial court unless it affects a substantive right and is obviously prejudicial. [12] Not all errors of constitutional dimension must be examined in depth under this standard. See Gilbert v. State, 598 P.2d 87, 92 (Alaska 1979). The state first argues that defense counsel's failure to object was a tactical decision, and that as a deliberate matter of trial strategy it constitutes an intelligent waiver of a known right by counsel. If there was such an intelligent waiver, the state argues, it cannot be plain error. In support of its position, the state relies on Davis v. State, 501 P.2d 1026, 1028-31 (Alaska 1972), and Hammonds v. State, 442 P.2d 39, 43 (Alaska 1968). The state notes that Bargas v. State, 489 P.2d 130 (Alaska 1971), is to the contrary, but distinguishes it on the ground that the lack of an objection by trial counsel in that case could not be attributed to any tactical or strategic decision. We think that the state has correctly articulated the distinction between Bargas and the Davis/Hammonds line of cases, but, on the facts of this case, we must put it in the Bargas camp. In Davis the defendant deliberately injected exculpatory comments made during and after her arrest into the case and relied on them during closing argument. We held that the state's closing argument which emphasized the defendant's failure, at the time of arrest, to deny having committed the crime, constituted reasonable rebuttal. Davis, 501 P.2d at 1030. In Hammonds, the defendant failed to object to testimony concerning the exculpatory statements obtained in violation of her constitutional rights. We concluded that the defendant, for strategic reasons, had deliberately waived her rights in order to obtain the benefit of the testimony. Hammonds, 442 P.2d at 42. In the instant case, defendant Dorman neither injected the issue of his silence into the case nor obtained a benefit from the prosecutor's inculpatory comment. There is no basis for the inference that defense counsel was trying to further Dorman's case by failing to object to the final argument comment, unless it is implied that defense counsel invited error for the purpose of obtaining a reversal on appeal. That conclusion, however, is not one which should be lightly inferred in any case, for it would preclude review of the most fundamental defects under the plain error doctrine; further, it is not supported by the record in this case because of the many objections made on other occasions by defense counsel to the use of Dorman's silence during interrogation. Thus, since the failure to object to the final comment has not been shown to have been a tactical or strategic decision, the state's argument does not compel us to disregard the error. We must still, of course, determine whether this remark constituted plain error. There is considerable authority to the effect that a prosecutor's comment on the silence of an accused during interrogation is reviewable without an objection having been made to the comment. [13] We have reached the same conclusion by implication in Bargas v. State, 489 P.2d 130, 133 (Alaska 1971) and Padgett v. State, 590 P.2d 432, 435 (Alaska 1979). [14] In Bargas the prosecutor introduced evidence of the defendant's refusal to consent to a search and commented on it during closing argument. No objection was made by defense counsel. We held that the evidence and the argument were obviously prejudicial by analogy to cases prohibiting prosecutorial comment on the silence of an accused and, therefore, that the rule of plain error required review on appeal. 489 P.2d at 132-34. Padgett v. State was another case in which the prosecutor introduced evidence concerning an accused's refusal to consent to a search and argued that it was evidence of guilt. Defense counsel made no objections. We held, in accordance with Bargas, that review of this conduct under the plain error rule was mandated. In so doing we expressed doubts concerning the effectiveness of an objection made during final argument: A timely objection could have prevented the evidence from ever reaching the jury. However, an objection during final argument is not so effective. The prejudicial comment is before the jury before the objection can be made, and the curative effect of an admonition of the court to disregard the comment is of debatable value. 590 P.2d at 435 (footnote omitted). Even where a timely objection is made and sustained, a curative instruction may be insufficient to remove the prejudice caused by a guilt by silence argument in a close case such as this one. [15] One other important factor in assessing the error here is the fact that the same issue had come up at another point in the trial, and had been dealt with unambiguously by the superior court. At one point, the prosecutor attempted to elicit testimony from another police officer who was present during the arrest and interrogation of Dorman concerning Dorman's responses to some questions and his failure to respond to others. The superior court stopped the examination, excused the jury and requested an explanation as to what the purpose of that line of questioning would be. Four times during this inquiry, defense counsel indicated that he objected to any use of Dorman's silence. The superior court explicitly stated no less than five times that the prosecutor could not comment on silence. Finally, the prosecutor stated that he would not comment on Dorman's silence. [16] Thereafter, the jury was recalled. At another point defense counsel filed a written motion for a protective order preventing the prosecution from the use or attempted use of cross-examination questions directed at Dorman's silence or reactions during the custodial interrogation. The motion was granted. The prosecutor stated during the argument of this motion: As I had indicated, Your Honor, at no time did I intend to or seek to directly comment upon Mr. Dorman's silence. The prosecutor's statements as to his position and the superior court's unequivocal rulings both indicate that the last-minute injection of the final comment on Dorman's post-arrest silence constituted questionable advocacy. The plain error doctrine is specifically intended to mitigate ... the harsh effects of a rigid application of the adversary method of trial... . Bargas v. State, 489 P.2d 130, 133 (Alaska 1971), quoting 8A J. Moore, Federal Practice ¶ 52.02[2], at 52-4 (2d ed. 1970). We must conclude that the prosecutor's comment was cognizable under the plain error rule. Finally, the state contends that, in light of the many items of circumstantial evidence pointing to Dorman's guilt, the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. [17] In our view the prosecutor's evidence was not overwhelming. Thus, considering the strength of the government's case, the obvious prejudice flowing from the remark, and the stage at trial at which the error occurred, we cannot conclude that the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.