Trujillo v. State

2002 WY 51, 44 P.3d 22, 2002 WL 523156
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedApril 9, 2002
Docket00-266
StatusPublished
Cited by49 cases

This text of 2002 WY 51 (Trujillo v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trujillo v. State, 2002 WY 51, 44 P.3d 22, 2002 WL 523156 (Wyo. 2002).

Opinion

44 P.3d 22 (2002)
2002 WY 51

Daniel R. TRUJILLO, Appellant (Defendant),
v.
The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff).

No. 00-266.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

April 9, 2002.

*23 Kenneth M. Koski, Public Defender; Donna Domonkos, Appellate Counsel; and Carrol S. Nelson, Representing Appellant.

Gay Woodhouse, Attorney General; Paul S. Rehurek, Deputy Attorney General; D. Michael Pauling, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Georgia Tibbetts, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Devon O'Connell Coleman, Acting Faculty Director, Prosecution Assistance Program; and Tammy L. Farmer, Student Intern., Representing Appellee.

Before LEHMAN, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, KITE, and VOIGT, JJ.

LEHMAN, Chief Justice.

[¶ 1] Appellant Daniel Trujillo was convicted of aggravated assault and battery in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-2-502(a)(ii) (LexisNexis 2001). Trujillo seeks reversal of his conviction, claiming prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument. We agree that certain statements made by the prosecutor in closing were improper; however, Trujillo has not demonstrated that the improper remarks rose to the level of plain error which would warrant reversal. Accordingly, the Judgment and Sentence is affirmed.

ISSUES

[¶ 2] Trujillo presents a single issue for review:

Prosecutorial misconduct occurred, denying Appellant a fair trial, when the prosecutor made improper comments and appeals in closing argument with no curative instruction from the trial court.

The State rephrases the issue in this way:

Was Appellant denied a fair trial by the statements made by the prosecutor during closing arguments?

FACTS

[¶ 3] On April 28, 2000, Daniel Trujillo was convicted in Sweetwater County of aggravated assault and battery in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 6-2-502(a)(ii)[1] following a four-day jury trial. The evidence the State presented at trial through witness testimony and exhibits indicated that on September 14, 1999, Trujillo found his former girlfriend, Karen Gallegos, in the bedroom of another man, Guillermo "Memo" Barrera. Apparently enraged at discovering Ms. Gallegos asleep in Barrera's bed, Trujillo grabbed her by the hair and then dragged her through the apartment and up a flight of stairs onto a grassy area near the apartment complex. Once outside, while ignoring her pleas to stop, Trujillo repeatedly kicked the minimally clad Ms. Gallegos in the head and ribs with his shoes. Trujillo finally ceased the beating after a neighbor yelled at him to stop and approaching police sirens could be heard. Ms. Gallegos suffered multiple cuts and bruises, black eyes, a perforated eardrum and a basilar skull fracture as a result of Trujillo's kicks. Police interviewed Trujillo, the victim Ms. Gallegos, and various other witnesses at the scene. Trujillo was not arrested that evening, but was charged thereafter by the Sweetwater County Attorney's Office with assault and battery with a deadly weapon, the weapon being his shoes. On June 12, 2000, following his jury conviction, the district court entered its judgment and sentence sentencing Trujillo to seven to ten years in the Wyoming State Penitentiary. This timely appeal followed asserting the prosecutor made impermissible statements during his closing argument which denied appellant a fair trial.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 4] Trujillo made no objection to the prosecutor's closing argument. The general rule in Wyoming is that a failure to interpose a timely objection to improper argument is treated as a waiver, unless the prosecutor's misconduct is so flagrant as to *24 constitute plain error, requiring reversal. Montoya v. State, 971 P.2d 134, 136 (Wyo. 1998); Armstrong v. State, 826 P.2d 1106, 1115 (Wyo.1992). A plain error analysis requires the appellant to demonstrate the violation of a clear and unequivocal rule of law, clearly reflected in the record, resulting in the abridgment of a substantial right of the party to his material prejudice. Arevalo v. State, 939 P.2d 228, 232 (Wyo.1997). We are reluctant to find plain error in closing arguments "lest the trial court becomes required to control argument because opposing counsel does not object." James v. State, 888 P.2d 200, 207 (Wyo.1994) (quoting Taul v. State, 862 P.2d 649, 659 (Wyo.1993)).

DISCUSSION

[¶ 5] In analyzing claims of prosecutorial misconduct, we consider the prosecutor's argument in the context in which it was made and with regard to the evidence produced at trial. Taul, 862 P.2d at 659. Over the years, on innumerable occasions when deciding this issue, this court has approved various portions of the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice sections entitled "Argument to the Jury." Section 3-5.8 pertains to the Prosecution Function and § 4-7.8 to its companion Defense Function. See e.g. Browder v. State, 639 P.2d 889, 893 (Wyo.1982); Harper v. State, 970 P.2d 400, 403 (Wyo.1998); Montoya v. State, 971 P.2d at 136; Mazurek v. State, 10 P.3d 531, 542 (Wyo.2000). The Commentary to § 3-5.8 (footnotes omitted) concludes:

The prosecutor's argument is likely to have significant persuasive force with the jury. Accordingly, the scope of argument must be consistent with the evidence and marked by the fairness that should characterize all of the prosecutor's conduct. Prosecutorial conduct in argument is a matter of special concern because of the possibility that the jury will give special weight to the prosecutor's arguments, not only because of the prestige associated with the prosecutor's office but also because of the fact-finding facilities presumably available to the office. Unfortunately, some prosecutors have permitted an excess of zeal for conviction or a fancy for exaggerated rhetoric to carry them beyond the permissible limits of argument. Of course, a prosecutor must be free to present arguments with logical force and vigor. As the Supreme Court has remarked, however, "while he may strike hard blows, he is not at liberty to strike foul ones." To attempt to spell out in detail what can and cannot be said in argument is impossible, since it will depend largely on the facts of each case. Nevertheless, certain broad guidelines based on the function of argument and the experience of courts in typical situations can be established.

We herein set out in toto the applicable Standards that generally delineate the appropriate limits of a prosecutor's arguments to a jury in the state of Wyoming. We again urge all prosecutors, defense counsel, and trial courts to become more familiar with the Standards and accompanying Commentary as well as this court's abundant precedent on the subject and govern their conduct at trial accordingly.[2]

(a) The prosecutor may argue all reasonable inferences from evidence in the record. It is unprofessional conduct for the prosecutor intentionally to misstate the evidence or mislead the jury as to the inferences it may draw.

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Bluebook (online)
2002 WY 51, 44 P.3d 22, 2002 WL 523156, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trujillo-v-state-wyo-2002.