Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Defense Newsletter Blog

Criminal Law

: Defense Newsletter Blog

Land: Prosecutor Speculation in Closing Argument Error, but Not Reversible Error

By Tim Cone

In Land v. Allen, No. 08-15254 (July 10, 2009), the Court affirmed the denial of habeas relief to an Alabama inmate sentenced to death for murder.The Court held that despite evidence that a statement was taken from Land by Alabama police while he was in a semi-fetal position, with his hands covering his face, the totality of the circumstances did not indicate that his statement was involuntary.The Court recognized that the trial court erred when it instructed the jury that "I determine the voluntariness of the statement [given by Land to police]." However, in view of the remainder of the instructions, this instruction by itself did so infect the entire trial so as to violate due process.The Court also recognized that the prosecutor, in a case where the facts were all circumstantial, made improper closing argument when he speculated about the words that Land exchanged with the victim before murdering her...continue to full post

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on July 10, 2009 (boomark / email).