Opinion ID: 1110731
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prosecutors questioned witnesses and commented upon matters contrary to the rulings of the trial court

Text: ¶ 26. Flora argues generally that misconduct by the prosecution prejudiced the jury against him, and more specifically that improper comments were made by the prosecution during the examination of witnesses and were pervasive throughout the trial. One such comment was made at the beginning of cross-examination of Flora by the State, when the first phrase spoken by the prosecutor was [p]oor, poor Milton Flora. Flora also complains that earlier in the trial, the prosecutor said, [l]et's try again, in response to an objection as to leading, which was sustained by the court during the direct examination of a witness. In both of these instances, timely objections were made by defense counsel, sustained by the trial court, and the jury was instructed to disregard the comments. There were other comments made by the prosecution and pointed out by Flora which were arguably improper, but objections to them were likewise sustained by the trial court. It cannot be said that individually or cumulatively these comments prejudiced Flora to the point of depriving him of a fair trial. A criminal defendant is not entitled to a perfect trial, only a fair trial. McGilberry v. State, 741 So.2d 894, 924 (Miss.1999) (citing Sand v. State, 467 So.2d 907, 911 (Miss.1985)). ¶ 27. Flora also points to instances where the prosecution asked improper questions of witnesses. First, during the cross-examination of Flora, the prosecutor asked him about the results of the gun powder residue test. Defense counsel objected before Flora could answer and the trial court sustained the objection. Later in the cross-examination, the prosecutor asked Flora if he had gun residue on him, and he said he didn't know, and again an objection by defense was sustained. ¶ 28. Flora cites Henderson v. State, 403 So.2d 139 (Miss.1981), in support of his argument that this duplicate questioning was reversible error. The prosecutor in Henderson was cross examining a defense witness and inquired about past convictions of the witness. An objection and motion for mistrial were made, and the trial court sustained the objection and denied the motion for mistrial. During cross-examination of the very next witness, the prosecutor asked essentially the same question. Again the trial court sustained a defense objection and denied a motion for mistrial. This Court said that the compounding of the improper conduct by the prosecutor, who had just heard the court's admonishment to the jury on the same subject, created too great a prejudice, and the case was reversed and remanded. Id. at 140-41. ¶ 29. Flora also complains that during the direct examination of another witness, the defense objected to an improper question, and the prosecutor asked the same question after the objection was sustained. In this instance, however, the record reflects that the prosecutor was simply trying to rephrase the question to make it acceptable to the trial court. The misconduct found in Henderson is clearly distinguishable from the actions of the prosecutor in the present case. ¶ 30. The trial judge took proper action to ensure Flora received a fair trial. There is no proof any of the comments made by the prosecution were improper enough to meet the Henderson standard, nor is there any proof that the comments resulted in the jury being prejudiced against Flora.