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Appeals panel considers whether prosecutor’s closing crossed the line in Farris rape convictions
Summary
At oral argument, defense counsel said the Commonwealth's closing argument improperly appealed to sympathy and shifted the burden in a close child-sex-abuse case; prosecutors said many objections were not preserved and that the disputed remarks were tied to evidence and the victim’s age and demeanor.
An appellate panel on Dec. 2 heard arguments over whether closing remarks by prosecutors in the case of Barry Lee Farris exceeded permissible bounds and led to an unfair trial.
Jennifer Peterson, counsel for defendant-appellant Barry Lee Farris, told Justices Sabita Singh, Margaret Grant and Gloria Tan that the case turned on witness credibility and that the Commonwealth’s closing argument impermissibly appealed to jurors’ sympathy and shifted the burden of proof. "In this case, they did," Peterson said of the Commonwealth’s closing, arguing that the trial court’s curative instruction could not undo prejudice in a close case.
Peterson pointed to…
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