Supreme Court of Delaware

A conviction for trafficking and delivery of cocaine is affirmed over claims that: 1) the prosecutor improperly threatened a witness who provided favorable testimony for defendant, by stating to the witness during redirect examination: "one lie gets you another ten years in prison"; 2) the prosecutor vouched for the credibility of that same witness by emphasizing the consequences of a lie under his plea agreement; 3) the trial court erred by denying his motion for judgment of acquittal because the state failed to introduce sufficient evidence to find that the "substance" in question was cocaine and that it weighed over 100 grams; 4) the trial court abused its discretion under Delaware Rules of Evidence 403 and 404(b) by allowing the state to admit evidence of a separate drug transaction; 5) the trial court committed plain error by admitting his prior history of illegal cocaine transactions, as it violated the court's prior orders and directions excluding such evidence; and 6) the cumulative effect of all the errors deprived him of a fair trial.

Appellate Information

• Decided 08/24/2009
• Published 08/24/2009

Judges

Court

• Supreme Court of Delaware

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