The following excerpt is from United States v. Vargas, No. 19-965-cr (2nd Cir. 2020):
Vargas argues that the government engaged in prosecutorial misconduct during its rebuttal at summation such that his conviction must be reversed. "[A] defendant who seeks to overturn his conviction based on alleged prosecutorial misconduct in summation bears a heavy burden." United States v. Farhane, 634 F.3d 127, 167 (2d Cir. 2011). "He must show more than that a particular summation comment was improper. He must show that the comment, when viewed against the entire argument to the jury and in the context of the entire trial, was so severe and significant as to have substantially prejudiced him, depriving him of a fair trial." Id. The
Page 7
plain error standard of review applies where "the defendant did not object at trial to the statements forming the basis of his appeal." United States v. Williams, 690 F.3d 70, 75 (2d Cir. 2012).
The above passage should not be considered legal advice. Reliable answers to complex legal questions require comprehensive research memos. To learn more visit www.alexi.com.