Opinion ID: 162347
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Government's Closing Remarks

Text: 39 During the government's rebuttal closing statement, the prosecutor stated to the jury: 40 [GOVERNMENT:] You know, you come from varied backgrounds. That's very, very important in our system of justice. Mr. McGriff back here with 27 proud years in the park service, and we've got — 41 [TOLES:] Your Honor, I object to this line — I object to this comment on individual jurors. 42 THE COURT: Overruled. 43 [GOVERNMENT:] We've got engineers, computers [sic], people who work in pharmacies, bookkeepers, tailors, administrators, office managers. You all bring collective wisdom. And the Judge is going to tell you use your common sense, use your common sense collectively, work together. Bring your varied backgrounds to this task. The Judge will tell you to use your common sense. 44 Toles contends that the prosecutor's remarks singling out a juror by name were improper. 45 Toles also claims that the prosecutor repeatedly misstated the evidence in his closing remarks. Specifically, he contends that the following remarks by the prosecutor were improper: (1) Toles had spoken with Sh-Pone Harris about using a note to commit the robberies; (2) Toles had stated in his confession that the bank robberies were initiated by asking for change; and (3) Toles had asked Harris, who cut Toles' hair, to save the clippings for a disguise in the robberies. Toles made contemporaneous objections to the first two allegedly improper statements, but did not object to the third. 46 In some circumstances, prosecutorial misconduct may be so severe that a new trial is required. United States v. Meienberg, 263 F.3d 1177, 1180 (10th Cir. 2001). This court reviews de novo whether prosecutorial misconduct occurred, which is a mixed question of law and fact. See United States v. Gabaldon, 91 F.3d 91, 94 (10th Cir.1996). If the prosecutor's statement is improper, it is harmless unless there is reason to believe that it influenced the jury's verdict. See id. 47 In assessing whether the misconduct had such an impact, we consider the trial as a whole, including the curative acts of the district court, the extent of the misconduct, and the role of the misconduct within the case ... [T]o warrant reversal, the misconduct must have been flagrant enough to influence the jury to convict on grounds other than the evidence presented. 48 Id. (quotation omitted). 49 In this case, the government concedes that it erred in singling out a juror by name during closing arguments. This error, however, was harmless. The district court instructed the jury that the closing statements were not evidence. After Toles objected to the reference, the prosecutor did not repeat the improper remark or mention other jurors by name. Although this court does not condone the prosecutor's remark in this case, the reference was not of a magnitude to warrant reversal of the verdict. 50 The prosecutor's alleged misstatements of the evidence during the government's closing statements, however, were not improper. All three statements cited by Toles were either ambiguous or were inferences that a jury could have properly drawn from the evidence. See United States v. Pena, 930 F.2d 1486, 1490 (10th Cir.1991) ([A] prosecutor's summation may appropriately suggest to the jury what inferences it ought to draw from the evidence in the case.). To the extent that any misstatement of the evidence could have been construed from the prosecutor's statements, they were harmless, or, in the case of the third statement, did not constitute plain error. See United States v. Hooks, 780 F.2d 1526, 1532 (10th Cir.1986).