Washington v. State
Washington v. State
Opinion of the Court
Billy Washington, Jr. appeals his conviction for manslaughter with a firearm. Mr. Washington argues that his conviction should be reversed due to prosecutorial misconduct during his trial. Specifically, Mr. Washington alleges that the prosecutor improperly shifted the burden of proof to him, and alluded to personal knowledge of evidence relating to the case that would be unavailable to the jury. We conclude that while some of the statements made by the prosecutor were arguably improper, none were objected to by defense counsel, and none rise to the level of fundamental error. We, therefore, affirm.
“[A]llegedly improper prosecuto-rial remarks cannot be appealed unless a contemporaneous objection is recorded. The exception to this general rule is the situation where the allegedly improper comments constitute fundamental error.” Kilgore v. State, 688 So.2d 895, 898 (Fla. 1996) (citing Gibson v. State, 351 So.2d 948, 950 (Fla. 1977)). Since Mr. Washington’s counsel
Having carefully reviewed the record, we conclude that the prosecutor’s arguments, to the extent they may have been improper, were not so prejudicial as to constitute fundamental error. Accordingly, Mr. Washington’s conviction is affirmed.
AFFIRMED.
. Appellate counsel did not serve as Mr. Washington’s trial counsel.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Billy WASHINGTON, Jr. v. STATE of Florida
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published