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State v. Corona2/11/1997
guilty and that doubt must have been based upon reason. The requirement that a doubt possessed by jurors be "reasonable" does not mandate that the jurors find an affirmative reason to support their finding of not guilty; rather, the doubt must not conflict with reason or sound judgment. To say that the jurors must have a "reason in order to find reasonable doubt" adds an extra stratum to the jury's analysis, one that is neither necessary nor permissible.
b. Prosecutorial vouching
The defendant claims that the prosecutor impermissibly vouched for the state's witnesses when she asserted that the victims and police officers testified "truthfully." The supreme court has recognized two forms of impermissible prosecutorial vouching: "(1) when the prosecutor places the prestige of the government behind its witness, and (2) where the prosecutor suggests that information not presented to the jury supports the witness's testimony." Dumaine, 162 Ariz. at 401, 783 P.2d at 1193 (1989). Out of context, the prosecutor's comment could be interpreted to have improperly placed "the prestige of the government" in support of the credibility of the victims and the police officers. In context, however, the prosecutor made clear that it was for the jury to "determine the credibility of" the witnesses and her characterization of the witnesses as truthful was sufficiently linked to the evidence.
5. Denial of Mistrial Motion
Prior to trial, the court granted the state's motion in limine to permit the introduction of evidence that, prior to the offenses, the defendant acknowledged membership in the Hollywood gang. During direct examination by the state, Phoenix Police Officer Michael Adams testified that the defendant had admitted that he was a gang member. On cross-examination, when defense counsel inquired why the officer's arrest report did not reflect that conversation, Adams responded that the defendant's gang affiliation was not material to the offense. On redirect examination, the prosecutor elicited the fact that the defendant had been arrested for trespassing and inhaling toxic vapors.
A similar exchange occurred after Phoenix Police Officer Philip Lanoue testified that the defendant had admitted gang membership to him. On cross-examination, defense counsel established that this conversation with the defendant was not recorded on the field interrogation card. On redirect examination, without objection, Lanoue testified that he believed that the information on the card was accurate because the defendant had admitted gang membership during "previous contacts on different incidences at his house and previous arrests."
The defendant subsequently moved for a mistrial, arguing that the officers' testimony regarding his prior arrests exceeded the limits of the trial court's ruling regarding his gang membership. The prosecutor responded that her questions on redirect examination were proper given counsel's attempts to impeach the witnesses. The court denied the motion. However, without defense objection, it then cautioned the jury:
Now, you are not to consider any reference to the defendant having been previously arrested and you are to disregard any of the previous witnesses testimony wherein the witness referred to a previous arrest of the defendant.
The court delivered a substantially similar admonition during final instructions to the jury. On appeal, the defendant contends that the court erred in denying his motion.
The officers' references to the defendant's arrests were admissible to rebut the suggestion that they had improperly recorded his admissions of gang membership. Moreover, the trial court twice caution
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