Court Opinion

ID: 9475740
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 05:36:56.036391+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:44:54.248146
License: Public Domain

FLAUM, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I join in all of the majority opinion except part II, section 2, which discusses Torres’ claim of improper argument by one of the prosecutors. I agree with Judge Coffey’s conclusion that the prosecutor’s remarks did not result in an unfair trial. I do not agree, however, that those remarks were invited by defense counsel’s arguments.
In discussing Torres’ improper argument claims, Judge Coffey chooses not to separate the issue of the propriety of the prosecutor’s remarks from that of the effect of those remarks on the fairness of Torres’ trial. As this court recently emphasized in United States v. Reynolds, 801 F.2d 952, 956 (7th Cir.1986), these issues are analytically distinct. In analyzing a claim of improper argument by the prosecution, the court must follow a two-step analysis. First the court must determine whether, considered in isolation, a challenged comment is improper. If the court finds that it is, the court then should reexamine the improper comment in light of the entire record to determine whether the improper comment deprived the defendant of a fair trial. See Reynolds, 801 F.2d at 956. Only *446as part of the second step should the court consider whether, and to what extent, the impropriety was “invited” by the defense counsel’s argument. Reynolds, 801 F.2d at 956; United States v. Pollard, 790 F.2d 1309, 1314 (7th Cir.1986).
The first remark Torres challenges as improper was made at the opening of rebuttal, when the Assistant United States Attorney commented “as a Puerto Rican American” on defense counsel’s discussion of freedom and due process. Tr. 570. I agree with the district judge’s description of this remark as “unfortunate.” The remark was improper because the prosecutor’s heritage was irrelevant. Nor can the remark be condoned as an “invited response” to an accusation that the prosecution was racially motivated. However, although the comment was inappropriate, it may well have reflected more harmfully upon the prosecution than the defense. Thus, I do not believe that the remark had any effect on the fairness of Torres’ trial.
Torres’ principal claim concerns the prosecutor’s invocation of his “oath” when he assured the jury that he would not offer perjured testimony, supra at 439 (maj. op.). This attempt by the prosecutor to attest to his own good faith placed him in the inappropriate role of witness, and was therefore improper.1
Because this comment was improper, Mazzone requires an assessment of the effect of that testimonial assertion, in light of the entire record, on Torres’ right to a fair trial. The majority applies the invited response doctrine to the prosecutor’s remarks. However, I conclude that this doctrine is irrelevant here. The term “invited response” does not invite prosecutors to respond to defense attorneys’ inappropriate statements. See United States v. Mazzone, 782 F.2d 757, 763 (7th Cir.1986). The invited response doctrine is, in essence, a form of the harmless error doctrine under which courts determine whether defense counsel’s improper argument has mitigated the effects of the prosecution’s improper arguments. Mazzone, 782 F.2d at 763. The doctrine stems from the recognition that the fairness of the whole trial, and not of a single event in a trial, determines the validity of a criminal conviction. As the Supreme Court recently stated, “[T]he idea of ‘invited response’ is used not to excuse improper comments, but to determine their effect on the trial as a whole.” Darden v. Wainwright, — U.S.-, 106 S.Ct. 2464, 2472, 91 L.Ed.2d 144 (1986).
Torres’ counsel made two arguments that Judge Coffey views as having invited the prosecutor’s improper remark: he argued that Torres’ confession was “juiced up,” and that the prosecution’s witnesses had been rehearsed. I believe that the prosecutor’s invocation of his oath cannot be considered an invited response to either argument.2
The defense counsel’s suggestion that Torres’ confession was “juiced up” contains no specific reference to either prosecutor. Thus, the prosecutor’s response — the invocation of his oath — was inappropriate. Had the defense counsel’s assertion been that the prosecutor knowingly offered perjured testimony, the response might well have been permissible. But defense counsel simply referred to “the prosecution” *447and “the government.” These references cannot be interpreted as challenges to the honesty of government counsel.
Similarly, I do not agree with Judge Coffey that the prosecutor’s invocation of his oath can be balanced against the defense counsel’s suggestions that Agent Fernandez’s testimony was rehearsed or practiced.3 The prosecutor’s invocation of his oath might have been an appropriate response to an accusation of perjury. Defense counsel, however, made no such accusation; he merely directed attention to the effect repetition may have had on the witness’ recollection of events. To the extent that defense counsel accused the government of misconduct by rehearsing the witness, the trial court properly criticized those remarks as without foundation.
Although trial counsel may legitimately mention the possible effects of trial preparation on a witness’ recollection, he or she must avoid unfounded charges of misconduct. In this case, I do not believe that the defense counsel implied that the prosecutor provided Fernandez with a false version of events.4
Although, in my view, the prosecutor’s improper reference to his oath cannot be considered an invited response, I nevertheless conclude that it did not deprive Torres of a fair trial. The remark was brief and, unlike those in Mazzone, was not repeated. The trial court immediately instructed the jury to disregard the remark. While that instruction perhaps could have been more vigorous, defense counsel did not request a more extensive instruction.5
This is not, as Mazzone demonstrates, the first time we have been faced with a prosecutor’s invocation of an oath. I hope that our comments make clear that it is improper for a prosecutor to personalize his or her arguments. The doctrine of invited response is not a safety zone within which prosecutors may seek refuge.

. Judge Coffey argues, supra at 439, that the "oath” the prosecutor referred to was his oath as a member of the bar, as opposed to the one he took when he became an Assistant United States Attorney. That reading of the comment seems unlikely in view of his reference to "[the other prosecutor] and our oath.” There were other members of the bar present in the courtroom, including defense counsel, but the prosecutor only referred to his fellow Assistant United States Attorney. It does not matter what oath the prosecutor invoked; Torres’ claim is that the prosecutor was personally vouching for the honesty of his witnesses.

. I note that the prosecutor failed to object to the false confession argument or to pursue his objection to defense counsel's improper characterization of his interviews with Agent Fernandez. As we made clear in Mazzone: "If defense counsel exceed proper bounds in their closing arguments, the prosecutor can object; he can, if need be, ask that counsel be held in contempt for improper argument or questions ... but he cannot respond in kind and violate ethical standards himself.” 782 F.2d at 762-63 (citation omitted).

. Even the government has not argued that these remarks should be balanced; rather, it asserts only that the prosecutor proclaimed his honesty in response to the defense counsel’s assertion that Torres’ confession had been falsified. Appellee’s Br. at pp. 14-15.

. It is not by any means my intent to make a “hero" of defense counsel. The passages quoted by Judge Coffey, supra at 439, readily indicate that much of defense counsel’s argument was irrelevant and perhaps not helpful to the jury. It is also true that, despite the trial court's reprimand, defense counsel continued to imply misconduct by the prosecution in preparing its witnesses. The proper response was further objection by the prosecutor. The prosecutor in this case instead chose to take matters into his own hands.

. I also note that the jury acquitted Torres’ co-defendant and acquitted Torres on two of the five counts with which he was charged. The meaning of that verdict has been debated by the parties and discussed in the majority opinion in connection with another issue. In the context of this issue, however, it suggests to me that the jury did attempt to evaluate each count separately.