Opinion ID: 698644
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Receipts for improvements to Perry's home

Text: 75 Receipts for expenditures made to improve and furnish appellant Perry's residence were recovered during an unlawful search and were suppressed prior to trial. Perry elected to testify in her defense and, on cross-examination, the prosecutor questioned her about the many expensive improvements that had been made to her residence after she had purchased it. In his closing argument, the prosecutor asserted that $70,000 had been spent on new furnishings for her home. Defense counsel objected to the statement on the ground that it alluded to a fact not in evidence. The district court effectively overruled the objection, responding that the jury's recollection [of the evidence] will control. XIV J.A., 3/29/90 Tr. at 19. 76 The prosecutor's statement was clearly improper because the government had introduced no evidence of the dollar value of the furnishings. Indeed, the government concedes as much. We find the error harmless, however. Although the prosecutor had failed to introduce evidence of the precise dollar amount attributable to the improvements and furnishings, his extensive cross-examination revealed that, over a three-month period, a number of costly improvements and purchases had been made to and for her home. These included a fence, an alarm system, a swimming pool, sets of dining room and bedroom furniture, a mirrored wall, new closets, new carpeting, a chandelier, and a new bathroom. Presented with this impressive list, the jury had an ample basis for concluding that tens of thousands of dollars had been spent on home improvements and furnishings within this period. Accordingly, we think it highly unlikely that the prosecutor's improper allusion to an actual dollar amount substantially prejudiced Perry or any other appellant.