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Fifth Circuit apparently taken over by aliens, issues restraint on prosecutors "vouching" for law enforcement

By Gritsforbreakfast

At Deliberations, Anne identifies a beauty of a Fifth Circuit opinion in a Texas case laying down the law regarding what prosecutors can say in closing statements to bolster the credibility of police testimony. She writes:Here's the line you're trying to draw: it's okay in closing argument to suggest what inferences jurors should make from the evidence, but it's not okay to insert your own credibility by vouching for the credibility of a witness. The classic example of vouching is when the prosecutor says, "I've known this FBI agent for years, and I can tell you he wouldn't lie." Got it? Okay. In the the trial that led to Fifth Circuit's United States v. Gracia opinion yesterday, defense counsel argued that the federal agents were lying...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on April 04, 2008 (boomark / email).