How have courts dealt with the issue of a prosecutor's closing argument suggesting that "Cubans have a tendency to violence and retribution"?

We recently decided in United States v. Cabrera, 222 F.3d 590 (9th Cir. 2000), to reverse a verdict in a drug prosecution because of a government witness's repeated testimonial references to an asserted prominence of "Cubans" in drug trafficking. Applying the plain error standard, we concluded that "[a]ppeals to racial, ethnic, or religious prejudice during the course of a trial violate a defendant's Fifth Amendment right to a fair trial." Id. at 594.

In Bains v. Cambra, 204 F.3d 964 (9th Cir. 2000), we similarly condemned as error a prosecutor's closing argument suggesting that "Sikhs" had a tendency to violence and retribution. Id. at 974-75. However, we affirmed the district court based on our assessment of the evidence because we concluded this error was "harmless error." Id. at 977-78.