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Bernal: No Improper Prosecution Bolstering

By Tim Cone

In U.S. v. Bernal-Benitez, the Court affirmed the convictions and sentences of defendants convicted of attempted cocaine-trafficking.The Court rejected the argument that the evidence was insufficient because the government failed to establish that the cocaine ?was actually cocaine,? noting that the government only had to prove that Bernal intended to obtain cocaine.The Court also rejected Batson challenges to the government?s strike of a black juror, finding that the lower court could properly rely on the justification that the struck juror was ?less educated? than the others in the venire.The Court also rejected a challenge to the prosecutor?s improper ?bolstering? arguments. The Court found that when the prosecutors asked why the FBI agents would lie and ?put their badges on the line? when they testified, they were ?merely acknowledging that adverse legal consequences would flow from lying under oath...continue to full post

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on January 26, 2010 (boomark / email).