Opinion ID: 784866
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Cumulative Effect of Errors (Soto-Beníquez, Soto-Ramírez)

Text: 167 A series of errors, each one of which is individually harmless, may have a cumulative effect that requires a new trial. United States v. Sepulveda, 15 F.3d 1161, 1195-96 (1st Cir.1993). 168 Defendants rely on this proposition, arguing that, considered as a whole, the prosecution's missteps warrant a new trial. To this point, we have concluded that the prosecution erred in repeatedly failing to meet discovery deadlines, in neglecting to disclose the extent of its plea arrangement with Negrón-Maldonado, and in making inappropriate remarks during closing arguments. This conduct is blameworthy and the government should take steps to see that it does not recur. 169 Still, the government's bad behavior does not require that the jury's verdict of guilt be set aside. At a minimum, to overturn a verdict, the prosecution's bad behavior must have prejudiced the defendants. See, e.g., United States v. Joyner, 191 F.3d 47, 53 (1st Cir.1999) (in evaluating allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, the unavoidable bottom line is whether we deem it likely, or not, that any prejudice affected the outcome of the case). Although the frustrations of defense counsel are understandable, that test is not met here. 170 The defense was not demonstrably prejudiced by any of the government's violations, and sometimes even gained an advantage from them. The defendants ultimately received the necessary discovery and were provided with compensation such as additional discovery and the exclusion of otherwise admissible evidence. When the defendants learned of the federal prosecution's intervention in state court on behalf of Negrón-Maldonado, the court offered them additional time to cross-examine the witness. And while the court's curative instruction during the prosecutor's closing arguments was concise, it was sufficient in the context of the overall instructions to assure that the jury was properly appraised of the import of the presumption of innocence. The totality of errors argument is unsuccessful.