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U.S. v. Williams, No. 11-676-cr (2nd Cir.) (690 F.3d 70) (July 6, 2012) (Judge Debra Ann Livingston)

Article • December 1, 2012

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Williams, No. 11-676-cr (2nd Cir.) (690 F.3d 70) (July 6, 2012) (Judge Debra Ann Livingston) by Defendant's conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is affirmed, as there is no basis for concluding that defendant was prejudiced by the single improper comment made by …

Darden v. Wainwright, No. 85-5319 (U.S. Supreme Court) (477 U.S. 168; 106 S.Ct. 2464) (June 23, 1986) (Justice Powell)

Article • September 4, 2005

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

Darden v. Wainwright, No. 85-5319 (U.S. Supreme Court) (477 U.S. 168; 106 S.Ct. 2464) (June 23, 1986) (Justice Powell) by Here the Court established that the standard for determining whether a prosecutor's misconduct during closing argument requires reversal is whether the statements so infected the trial with unfairness as to …

U.S. v. Yakobowicz, No. 04-0201-cr (2nd Cir.) (427 F.3d 144) (October 14, 2005) (Judge Ralph K. Jr. Winter)

Article • September 1, 2005 • from P&J September, 2005

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Yakobowicz, No. 04-0201-cr (2nd Cir.) (427 F.3d 144) (October 14, 2005) (Judge Ralph K. Jr. Winter) by Here a divided panel from the Second Circuit overturned a defendant's conviction for filing false excise tax returns after concluding that the district court had acted inappropriately in allowing argumentative summations …

U.S. v. Conrad, No. 02-1292 (8th Cir.) (320 F.3d 851) (February 28, 2002) (Judge Michael J. Melloy)

Article • February 1, 2003 • from P&J February, 2003

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Conrad, No. 02-1292 (8th Cir.) (320 F.3d 851) (February 28, 2002) (Judge Michael J. Melloy) by Here the Court vacated a gun conviction because of the cumulative prejudicial effect of comments by the prosecutor about the purpose of the gun control laws, which it said have “absolutely no …

U.S. v. Carter, No. 99-5430 (6th Cir.) (236 F.3d 777) (January 18, 2001) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore)

Article • February 1, 2001 • from P&J February, 2001

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Carter, No. 99-5430 (6th Cir.) (236 F.3d 777) (January 18, 2001) (Judge Karen Nelson Moore) by

Donnelly v. De Christoforo, No. 72-1570 (U.S. Supreme Court) (416 U.S. 637; 94 S.Ct. 1868) (May 13, 1974) (Justice Rehnquist)

Article • June 21, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

Donnelly v. De Christoforo, No. 72-1570 (U.S. Supreme Court) (416 U.S. 637; 94 S.Ct. 1868) (May 13, 1974) (Justice Rehnquist) by Here the Court reversed a lower court decision that had held that a prosecutor's comments during summation were improper and prejudicial, based on its examination of the entire proceedings …

U.S. v. Cheska, No. 98-2665 (7th Cir.) (202 F.3d 947) (January 31, 2000) (Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner)

Article • March 1, 2000 • from P&J March, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Cheska, No. 98-2665 (7th Cir.) (202 F.3d 947) (January 31, 2000) (Judge Ilana Diamond Rovner) by In this case the defendant and a co-defendant were charged with mail fraud in a scheme to kill horses for insurance money. At the trial, Tommy Burns, “a long time friend” of …

Boyle v. Million, No. 98-6485 (6th Cir.) (201 F.3d 711) (January 7, 2000) (Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey)

Article • February 1, 2000 • from P&J February, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

Boyle v. Million, No. 98-6485 (6th Cir.) (201 F.3d 711) (January 7, 2000) (Judge Martha Craig Daughtrey) by In this case, with unusually caustic words, the Sixth Circuit addressed a series of extraordinary and incredibly inappropriate comments by a State prosecutor throughout a trial, holding that they were so flagrant …

Portuondo v. Agard, No. 98-1170 (U.S. Supreme Court) (529 U.S. 61; 120 S.Ct. 1119) (March 6, 2000) (Justice Scalia)

Article • February 1, 2000 • from P&J February, 2000

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

Portuondo v. Agard, No. 98-1170 (U.S. Supreme Court) (529 U.S. 61; 120 S.Ct. 1119) (March 6, 2000) (Justice Scalia) by In 1997, the Second Circuit held that a prosecutor may not, as part of her summation, use the mere fact of a defendant’s presence at his trial as the basis …

U.S. v. Watson, No. 97-3153 (D.C. Cir.) (171 F.3d 695) (April 9, 1999) (Judge Judith W. Rogers)

Article • May 1, 1999 • from P&J May, 1999

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Watson, No. 97-3153 (D.C. Cir.) (171 F.3d 695) (April 9, 1999) (Judge Judith W. Rogers) by In this case, during closing argument, the prosecutor misstated a defense witness’ testimony on a crucial point and did so while purporting to quote the witness’ testimony. The critical issue in this …

U.S. v. Gartmon, No. 96-3102 (D.C. Cir.) (146 F.3d 1015) (July 14, 1998) (Judge Merrick B. Garland)

Article • August 1, 1998 • from P&J August, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Gartmon, No. 96-3102 (D.C. Cir.) (146 F.3d 1015) (July 14, 1998) (Judge Merrick B. Garland) by Here the Court established three factors to be considered in determining whether a defendant has suffered sufficient prejudice to warrant a new trial, based on a misstatement of fact to the jury …

U.S. v. Hadrick, No. Crim. No. 96-12 (W.D.Pa.) (996 F.Supp. 464) (April 2, 1998) (Judge Sean J. McLaughlin)

Article • June 1, 1998 • from P&J June, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Hadrick, No. Crim. No. 96-12 (W.D.Pa.) (996 F.Supp. 464) (April 2, 1998) (Judge Sean J. McLaughlin) by This case is noted for its ruling that "when a prosecutor resorts to evidence outside the record in her closing argument, it implicates the defendant's Fifth Amendment right to be judged …

U.S. v. Wilson, No. 95-5581 (4th Cir.) (135 F.3d 291) (January 29, 1998) (Judge M. Blane Michael)

Article • March 1, 1998 • from P&J March, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Wilson, No. 95-5581 (4th Cir.) (135 F.3d 291) (January 29, 1998) (Judge M. Blane Michael) by This case gives one scary example of how far some prosecutors will go to achieve a conviction - even if it means fabricating crimes and deliberately withholding material exculpatory evidence. In this …

U.S. v. Wilson, No. 95-5581 (4th Cir.) (135 F.3d 291) (January 29, 1998) (Judge M. Blane Michael)

Article • March 1, 1998 • from P&J March, 1998

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Wilson, No. 95-5581 (4th Cir.) (135 F.3d 291) (January 29, 1998) (Judge M. Blane Michael) by This case gives one scary example of how far some prosecutors will go to achieve a conviction - even if it means fabricating crimes and deliberately withholding material exculpatory evidence. In this …

U.S. v. Donato, No. 95-3195 (D.C. Cir.) (99 F.3d 426) (November 8, 1996) (Judge David B. Sentelle)

Article • December 1, 1996 • from P&J December, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Donato, No. 95-3195 (D.C. Cir.) (99 F.3d 426) (November 8, 1996) (Judge David B. Sentelle) by This is an astonishing decision, not just because the D.C. Circuit found merit in each of the four issues raised by the defendant on appeal and thus vacated a series of convictions, …

U.S. v. Russo, No. 95-1123, No. 372 (2nd Cir.) (74 F.3d 1383) (January 11, 1996) (Judge James L. Oakes)

Article • March 1, 1996 • from P&J March, 1996

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Russo, No. 95-1123, No. 372 (2nd Cir.) (74 F.3d 1383) (January 11, 1996) (Judge James L. Oakes) by Court held it was harmless error for the prosecution to introduce new matters during its rebuttal summation because they did not result in substantial prejudice to the defendant. One of …

U.S. v. Bethancourt, No. 94-5670 (3rd Cir.) (65 F.3d 1074) (September 6, 1995) (Judge Max Rosenn)

Article • October 1, 1995

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Bethancourt, No. 94-5670 (3rd Cir.) (65 F.3d 1074) (September 6, 1995) (Judge Max Rosenn) by "Despite our best efforts, some prosecutors continue to engage in behavior that can only corrupt the judicial process and undermine the very investigative and prosecutorial resources they seek to serve. They apparently do …

U.S. v. Carroll, No. 93-5030 (6th Cir.) (26 F.3d 1380) (June 22, 1994) (Judge Nathaniel R. Jones)

Article • January 1, 1994

Filed under: Punch And Jurists, Summation

U.S. v. Carroll, No. 93-5030 (6th Cir.) (26 F.3d 1380) (June 22, 1994) (Judge Nathaniel R. Jones) by In reversing a conviction based on non-flagrant, but improper, prosecutorial vouching, the Court stated that upon a finding that such comments were improper, it should then look to see if they were …