Opinion ID: 2975648
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Religious and ethnic prejudice

Text: Roach and Sheldon further objected to the government’s comments during its rebuttal closing argument that the Ten Commandments do not say “thou shalt not steal from white people.” This statement, although textually accurate, served, according to the defendants, to incite religious and ethnic bias and thereby deprived them of a fair trial. Roach and Sheldon are both white, whereas Gomez and Mejia are both Hispanic. A review of the defendants’ closing arguments suggests, however, that the government was responding to improper comments made by counsel for Roach. His counsel had argued that [t]his is one mark in ten years that they’re saying on a sergeant; and the whole tale doesn’t make any sense. We can’t furnish all the answers. We don’t know why the Hispanics—they know how to work the system. They had things to hide. We don’t know why this is set up like it is. It’s one of the great mysteries; but we know that the government’s facts don’t work, you can tell from their evidence and their witnesses. Roach’s co-counsel then argued: What did we learn about the individuals Marcos Mijia [sic] Vasques, Wilder Gomez Roblero? Who are these individuals? That’s one question, one of many questions . . . . Who are you? That was a question that was asked by Mr. Smith. Did you hear Mr. Gomez? At first he — there was a big long pause, and he did not want to say who he was. He was also asked his date of birth, and he kept asking, well, which one. He was asked where did he live in New Jersey. I don’t remember. For an individual who has come to this country to make a better life, he cannot remember the first place he came to live, this great wonderful country that we live in. Why did he not want to the government to know, us to know, you to know where he lived in New Jersey? Is there more bad things [sic] that he’s done out there? We conclude that the government’s statements did not amount to misconduct. The statements were made in response to Roach’s closing arguments, which contained inflammatory remarks about Hispanics. Indeed, the district court said in a footnote that defense counsel’s statements about Hispanics knowing how to work the system constituted “race-baiting” and were part of a pattern of tactics and statements that the defense had used even more aggressively in the first trial. To be sure, “[c]ourts universally condemn” the injection of religion into legal proceedings and we do not vary from that condemnation here. Hicks v. Collins, 384 F.3d 204, 223 (6th Cir. 2004). But the government’s comment was isolated and there is no indication that it misled the jury. The government did not suggest that the jury should decide the case based on theological principles nor make any other reference to religion. Rather, after the defense’s objection to the reference to the Ten Commandments, the government continued its closing argument by stating that “[t]he law does not make differences based on who the victim is. Our constitutional rights do not depend on who the victim is. Those rights apply to everyone in the United States.” As the defense points out, there was no contemporaneous cautionary instruction to the jury by the district court. But the defense did not request one either. After the court overruled the defense’s objection, there were no further Biblical references during the trial. In sum, the government’s comment, although improper, was not flagrant. Moreover, the comment did not appeal to religious or ethnic prejudice, but was made in response to the Nos. 06-6266/6298/6564 United States v. Roach et al. Page 9 inappropriate comments about Mejia and Gomez by the defense. We therefore find no reversible error regarding this issue.