United States v. Stanley Morton Bashaw

In a jury trial, Bashaw was convicted on two charges of having unlawfully sold government property, violations of 18 U.S.C. § 641 . On this appeal, Bashaw makes two contentions: (1) That the District Court erred in refusing to grant a mistrial because of the prosecutor’s inquiry of Bashaw, while a witness in his own behalf, “Did you recently plead in state court to possession of drugs?” (2) Egregious error by the prosecutor in a comment, made during summation “that the defendant’s evidence doesn’t meet its burden of showing the defendant did not commit the crime charged.”

Germane to the first contention is that the prosecutor was apparently not aware that the state charge was a misdemeanor and that the proceedings therein had not terminated. When the mistrial motion was made following the question, the district judge immediately and firmly admonished the jury that the question should be entirely disregarded.

Likewise, when objection was made to the above quoted portion of the prosecutor’s summation, the district judge immediately and properly instructed the jury that it “must not accept the statements of counsel as to the law.” Thereafter, the court carefully instructed…