United States v. Nicolas Aguilar-Montoya

MEMORANDUM

Nicolas Aguilar-Montoya was convicted for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and conspiracy to do the same, and was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment. He appeals his conviction and sentence. We affirm.

Aguilar-Montoya contends, first, that he is entitled to a new trial because the prosecutor made statements in his closing arguments that improperly injected his personal opinions into the trial. Because Aguilar-Montoya failed to object at trial to any of the prosecutor’s statements, we review for plain error. United States v. Washington, 462 F.3d 1124, 1136 (9th Cir.2006). We conclude that the prosecutor did not engage in misconduct: his repeated use of phrases such as “of course” and “right” did not convey to the jury that his arguments were intended “as personal assurances.” United States v. Weatherspoon, 410 F.3d 1142 , 1147 n. 3 (9th Cir.2005). Instead, the statements of which Aguilar-Montoya complains were “phrased in such a manner that it [was] clear to the jury that the prosecutor [was] summarizing evidence rather than inserting personal knowledge and opinion into the case.” United States v. Hermanek, 289 F.3d 1076, 1098 (9th…