Court Opinion

ID: 9526243
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 03:14:29.45869+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:14:04.181066
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE RYAN, dissenting: While I agree that the comments of the prosecutor were improper, under the circumstances of this case they were not so prejudicial as to require that the judgment be reversed and the case remanded. The majority opinion sets forth the comments thought to be prejudicial. Yet, in reviewing them we note that without exception either the defense counsel did not object to the remarks or his objections were sustained and the comments were stricken. Failure to object to statements made in closing argument ordinarily waives any error contained in these statements. [People v. Hampton, 44 Ill.2d 41; People v. Smothers, 55 Ill.2d 172.) Also, as noted in Hampton, sustaining an objection to a prosecutor’s comment and directing the jury to disregard it is usually sufficient to cure the alleged error. This court stated in People v. Smothers: “The general atmosphere of the trial is observed by the trial court, and cannot be reproduced in the record on appeal. The trial court is, therefore, in a better position that a reviewing court to determine the prejudicial effect, if any, of a remark made during argument, and unless clearly an abuse of discretion, its ruling should be upheld.” (55 Ill.2d 172, 176.) The trial court in the exercise of its discretion denied the defendant’s motion for a new trial. The fact that we may have ruled differently does not establish the trial court’s ruling to be a clear abuse of discretion. We should not substitute our judgment based solely on our appraisal of the impact of these remarks upon the jury as revealed by the cold printed words or possibly by the emphasis that we ourselves unconsciously supply as we read them. Both William Crueger and Doris Conners gave accurate descriptions of the defendant to the police. Their descriptions led to an almost immediate arrest. Both witnesses positively identified the defendant soon after the arrest and at the trial. Given the strong evidence of guilt, it is difficult to perceive that the comments of the prosecutor would have altered the verdict or prejudiced the defendant’s case. People v. Pittman, 55 Ill.2d 39; People v. Wilson, 51 Ill.2d 302. UNDERWOOD, C.J., and WARD, J., join in this dissent.