Opinion ID: 584174
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Prosecution Remarks

Text: 38 Appellants allege that the prosecutor made prejudicial statements during the rebuttal portion of her closing argument. The remark by the prosecutor, which concerns this court the most, occurred in response to defense counsel's allegation during closing arguments that the prosecutor made unfair assessments of the evidence in her summation: 39 Now, before I go into answering more of the specifics of the issues raised, I do want to start out by saying that Mr. Bandy made a couple of statements about whether or not I was being fair. I want to address those first because I take those kind of comments very seriously and very personally. When a person is sworn in as an Assistant United States Attorney, they take an oath of office that they will do justice, they won't seek a conviction, they will do justice and try to be fair. 40 VI Trial Transcript at 1149 [hereinafter --- Tr. at ---]. 41 The prosecutor clearly made improper remarks. See, e.g., United States v. Skarda, 845 F.2d 1508, 1510 (8th Cir.1988) (prosecutor erred by stating: We are doing the best we can to convict someone that obviously we feel in good faith should be prosecuted and convicted.). The prosecutor went too far in arguing her own credentials for truthfulness to the jury. 42 The district court overruled defense counsel's objections to those remarks, stating that the remarks were invited. The Government points to sections of Roulette's counsel's arguments in which Roulette's counsel stated that the prosecutor made an unfair argument by referring to Eric Travis as a drug supplier. VI Tr. at 1107. Although a district court may permit many otherwise erroneous statements by prosecutors as invited responses to remarks by defense counsel, United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 12-14, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 1044-46, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985), the Court in Young held that statements of defense counsel far harsher than the statements in this case do not excuse misconduct. 470 U.S. at 4-5, 105 S.Ct. at 1040-41 (defense counsel called government's tactics reprehensible and implied prosecutor had not acted with honor or integrity--no invited error); see also Skarda, 845 F.2d at 1511 (defense counsel suggested that prosecutors had suborned perjury--no invited error); United States v. O'Connell, 841 F.2d 1408, 1429 n. 19 (8th Cir.1988) (defense counsel called prosecutor's tactics wicked and poisonous--no invited error), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1011, 109 S.Ct. 799, 102 L.Ed.2d 790 (1989). Defense counsel's remarks did not invite the erroneous statements made by the prosecutor. 43 Appellants must not only prove that the prosecutor's remarks were improper, but that they also prejudicially affected their substantive rights. United States v. Boyce, 797 F.2d 691, 694 (8th Cir.1986). We conclude that the improper remarks did not prejudice appellants' trial. The prosecutor made her remarks at the end of a trial in which the Government presented overwhelming evidence against appellants. If the Government's case were not as strong, we might have concluded otherwise.