Read US v. Garcia, 07-40245

A conviction for drug-related offenses is reversed and remanded for a new trial where: 1) during rebuttal closing argument, the government improperly bolstered its key witnesses, the agents who heard defendant's unrecorded confession; and 2) such bolstering constituted reversible plain error, which seriously affected the fairness, integrity, and public reputation of the proceedings.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/31/2008
• Published 04/01/2008

Judges

• WIENER, Circuit Judge:, Before WIENER, BARKSDALE, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Peter Rodney Mason (argued), James Lee Turner, Asst. U.S. Atty., Houston, TX, Mark Michael Dowd, Brownsville, TX, for U.S., Marjorie A. Meyers, Fed. Pub. Def., Laura Fletcher Leavitt, Asst. Fed. Pub. Def., Sarah Beth Landau (argued), Houston, TX, for Gracia.