closing-argument

34 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6725 Shawn D. Powell v. Fidencio Guzman, Warden Ninth Circuit 2026-02-05 Pending IFP closing-argument habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance strickland-standard trial-counsel witness-credibility During closing argument at Petitioner Shawn Powell's trial, his trial counsel unreasonably conceded Powell's guilt of vandalism and violation of a pro…
25A650 Alabama v. Brandon Dewayne Sykes Alabama 2025-12-03 Application closing-argument fifth-amendment griffin-violation harmless-error prosecutorial-comment self-incrimination Whether a prosecutor's comments during closing argument that implicitly reference a defendant's choice not to testify violate the Fifth Amendment's pr…
25-5545 Miguel Angel Homedes v. United States Sixth Circuit 2025-09-04 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-review closing-argument due-process evidentiary-rules prosecutorial-misconduct trial-procedure Whether improper prosecutorial statements in closing argument are sufficiently flagrant to warrant reversal, where they inserted facts not directly in…
23-7697 Zachary Kelsey v. Tim Garrett, Warden, et al. Ninth Circuit 2024-06-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP cause-of-death closing-argument criminal-procedure criminal-trial forensic-pathologist forensic-pathology habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel second-degree-murder sixth-amendment Whether Zachary Kelsey was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel
23-7619 Brandon Gibbs v. Texas Texas 2024-06-03 Denied IFP closing-argument constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process fifth-amendment prosecutorial-misconduct self-incrimination Did prosecutor improperly comment on Petitioner's failure to testify during closing argument, in violation of the Fifth Amendment?
23-7544 Rodolfo Morales-Cortez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2024-05-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof closing-argument criminal-procedure defendant-rights due-process objection-standard prejudice prosecutorial-misconduct Does a defendant who timely objects to a prosecutor's misconduct during closing argument nevertheless bear the burden to show that it caused him preju…
23-7319 Yudith Reynoso-Hiciano v. United States Second Circuit 2024-04-26 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-and-abetting burden-of-proof closing-argument criminal-procedure jury-instructions presumption-of-innocence reasonable-doubt Whether repeatedly arguing in closing that the defendant 'needed the jury to believe' certain things impermissibly shifted the burden of proof and evi…
23-5257 Angel Rios-Edeza v. United States Ninth Circuit 2023-08-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof closing-argument criminal-procedure due-process evidence-vouching jury-instructions ninth-circuit prosecutorial-misconduct rebuttal-argument Did the Ninth Circuit error in finding that there was no prosecutorial misconduct?
22-7536 Mark D. Sievers v. Florida Florida 2023-05-12 Denied IFP closing-argument due-process fair-trial jury-instruction plea-agreement polygraph prosecutorial-misconduct witness-credibility Whether a state judge violates a defendant's due process right to a fair trial by giving an impromptu jury instruction regarding the credibility of th…
22-905 Troy A. Gregory v. United States Tenth Circuit 2023-03-17 Denied Response Waived closing-argument confession due-process hypothetical identification prosecutorial-misconduct Can a prosecutor act out a hypothetical confession by the defendant in closing argument when it is uncontested that the defendant did not confess?
21-7449 Leonard S. Taylor v. Paul Blair, Warden Eighth Circuit 2022-03-23 Denied IFP capital-punishment capital-trial closing-argument ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel martinez-standard martinez-v-ryan mccoy-v-louisiana nixon-v-florida sixth-amendment strickland-test strickland-v-washington Whether the decision to forego a closing argument in the penalty phase of a capital murder trial is a tactical decision for trial counsel to make or a…
21-7289 Katrina Brown v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2022-03-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP closing-argument criminal-procedure fair-trial judicial-error motion-for-severance prejudice right-to-counsel severance standby-counsel whether-the-district-court-committed-error-by-ordering-the-defendant-to-go-forward-with-closing-argument-without-standby-counsel
21-7260 George K. Mackie v. Massachusetts Massachusetts 2022-03-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP closing-argument criminal-procedure impeachment ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-instructions miscarriage-of-justice prosecutorial-misconduct reasonable-doubt Did the appeals court err in holding that the error-laden closing argument by the prosecutor, taken in its totality, create a substantial risk of a mi…
21-7040 Harshadkumar Nanjibhai Jadav v. J. Woodson, Warden Virginia 2022-02-01 Denied IFP closing-argument constitutional-rights due-process fair-trial false-evidence prosecutorial-misconduct trial-procedure Does the prosecutor's deliberate use of known false evidence during closing argument violate the accused's Constitutional rights?
21-6475 Mark Hollingsworth v. Maryland Maryland 2021-12-03 Denied IFP brady-violation closing-argument criminal-procedure due-process false-testimony jury-argument napue-v-illinois napue-violation prosecutorial-misconduct right-to-fair-trial Did the Maryland State Courts err in finding that the Prosecutor did not violate Napue v. Illinois, 360 U.S. 264 (1959) when the Prosecutor argued to …
21-5889 Anibal Alejandro Hernandez v. Bobby Lumpkin, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2021-10-12 Denied IFP closing-argument courtroom-security criminal-procedure due-process fair-trial ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prejudicial-statements shackling trial-shackling Was Petitioner denied the effective assistance of counsel when his trial counsel failed to object to Petitioner being ordered to be shackeled during t…
21-5135 Michael Ray Orr v. Texas Texas 2021-07-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP closing-argument criminal-procedure defendant-rights demeanor fifth-amendment prosecutorial-misconduct self-incrimination trial-procedure Did the trial court err by denying Mr. Orr's objection to improper closing argument by the prosecutor?
21-41 James Allen Jackson v. Texas Texas 2021-07-13 Denied Response Waived closing-argument constitutional-rights criminal-procedure habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel prejudice procedural-due-process racist-testimony right-to-silence trial-counsel wiccan-testimony Was petitioner denied effective-assistance-of-counsel,racist-testimony,wiccan-testimony,right-to-silence,closing-argument,prejudice
20-1712 Charles Paul-Thomas Phoenix v. The Florida Bar Florida 2021-06-10 Denied Response Waived attorney-disciplinary-proceeding attorney-discipline charge-not-in-original closing-argument due-process grievance-committee in-re-ruffalo probable-cause quasicriminal-nature Whether a charge, in a state bar attorney disciplinary proceeding for which the attorney grievance committee had determined there was no probable caus…
20-8203 Dasheme Kareme Hosley v. Rick Hill, Warden Ninth Circuit 2021-06-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP closing-argument due-process harmless-error judicial-ratification jury-instruction jury-instructions legal-misstatement prosecutorial-misconduct trial-court trial-procedure Should courts presume that the jury followed the trial court's correct instruction at the end of trial even if the trial judge expressly ratified a mi…
20-6871 Angnem Green v. New York New York 2021-01-13 Denied IFP closing-argument constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process equal-protection fair-trial prosecutorial-misconduct racial-bias racial-discrimination Whether the New York Appellate Division, Fourth Judicial Department erred in finding Petitioner's Constitutional right to a fair trial was not violate…
20-5389 Milkiyas Bayisa v. United States District of Columbia 2020-08-18 Denied Response WaivedIFP appellate-procedure closing-argument constitutional-rights due-process judicial-review prosecutorial-misconduct rebuttal religious-references Whether the prosecutor's repeated references to God during rebuttal closing argument constituted highly prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct resulting…
20-5154 Jorge Armando Herrera Salguero v. California Ninth Circuit 2020-07-23 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability closing-argument credibility due-process habeas habeas-corpus prosecutorial-misconduct witness-credibility Whether the Ninth Circuit's denial of a COA on Salguero's prosecutorial-misconduct claim is contrary to this Court's jurisprudence
19-8335 Mitchell Willoughby v. Deedra Hart, Warden Sixth Circuit 2020-04-22 Denied IFP caldwell-precedent capital-sentencing closing-argument death-penalty jury jury-instructions prosecutor prosecutorial-misconduct sixth-circuit state-law voir-dire Did the Sixth Circuit panel misunderstand or frustrate the purpose behind this court's holding in Caldwell v. Mississippi
19-7590 David K. Howell v. Shawn Hatton, Warden Ninth Circuit 2020-02-07 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability closing-argument criminal-procedure due-process expert-testimony habeas habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance-of-counsel intoxication methamphetamine methamphetamine-intoxication sixth-amendment Is the Ninth Circuit's denial of a COA on Howell's ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim contrary to this Court's jurisprudence?
18-7858 Arif Majid v. Jeff Noble, Warden Sixth Circuit 2019-02-08 Denied Response WaivedIFP burden-of-proof closing-argument constitutional-rights due-process fair-trial jury-bias jury-instructions prosecutorial-misconduct religious-prejudice trial-fairness Whether a prosecutor's appeals to religious prejudice in closing argument and throughout trial to inflame the passions of the jury embody animus or of…
18-7834 Brent William Bogseth v. Michigan Michigan 2019-02-07 Denied IFP 14th-amendment 5th-amendment closing-argument constitutional-rights criminal-procedure deliberation due-process evidence fair-trial fifth-amendment murder premeditation prosecutorial-misconduct self-incrimination Whether the lack of evidence to show the defendant actually committed the offense of murder means premeditation and deliberation cannot exist, or if t…
18-7434 Christopher Adin Graham v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-01-15 Denied Response WaivedIFP 28-usc-2253 appellate-procedure certificate-of-appealability closing-argument counsel-claims due-process habeas-corpus ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel judicial-review legal-standard prejudice testimony Whether the court of appeals correctly denied petitioner a certificate of appealability under 28 U.S.C. 2253(c) on his ineffective-assistance-of-couns…
18-7265 Rodney Scot Armstrong, Jr. v. Michigan Michigan 2019-01-07 Denied IFP civil-procedure closing-argument de-novo-review directed-verdict legal-preservation motion objection preservation-of-error preservation-of-issues prosecutorial-misconduct standard-of-review trial-procedure Is a motion for a directed verdict an objection that preserves an issue for and mandates de novo review?
18-7089 Esau Milliner v. Kathy Litteral, Warden Sixth Circuit 2018-12-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP appeal-waiver closing-argument confession constitutional-rights criminal-procedure due-process first-degree-burglary ineffective-assistance-of-counsel initial-aggressor procedural-bar right-to-appeal right-to-testify self-defense trial-counsel Effective-assistance-of-counsel
18-6701 Roger Dale Epperson v. Kentucky Kentucky 2018-11-14 Denied IFP client-autonomy closing-argument concession-of-guilt criminal-procedure defense-strategy ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mccoy-v-louisiana right-to-control-defense right-to-counsel sixth-amendment Is a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel, and the right to control the objective of the defense, violated, under the Court's recent decision …
18-5563 Peter Cain Bruton v. Lorie Davis, Director, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institutions Division Fifth Circuit 2018-08-13 Denied IFP closing-argument extraneous-offenses ineffective-assistance ineffective-assistance-of-counsel mistrial motion-in-limine prosecutorial-misconduct trial-counsel violation violation-of-court-order Is an attorney ineffective when he fails to support a motion for mistrial with a violation of Defense's Motion in Limine?
18-5464 Jose Benitez, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-08-03 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP armed-bank-robbery closing-argument constructive-amendment criminal-procedure due-process firearm firearm-specification indictment indictment-variance jury-instructions prosecutorial-discretion variance Whether a constructive amendment occurred when the jury instructions and government's closing argument allowed conviction for armed bank robbery witho…
18-5433 Helen Atkins v. Julie L. Jones, Secretary, Florida Department of Corrections Eleventh Circuit 2018-08-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP closing-argument constitutional-rights due-process effective-assistance-of-counsel fair-trial hearsay-evidence ineffective-assistance-of-counsel jury-instructions prosecutorial-misconduct right-to-testify sixth-amendment speedy-trial Was the petitioner denied her right to a fair trial and effective assistance of counsel?