United States v. Williams

MEMORANDUM *

Williams contends that the government violated his due process right to a fair trial by engaging in numerous instances of prosecutorial misconduct and that the district court erred in imposing an enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(5) solely on the basis of a hearsay statement given by an alleged robbery victim. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We reverse Williams’ conviction because several incidents of prosecutorial misconduct deprived him of a fair trial. As a result, we do not address his second contention regarding the sentencing enhancement.

1. Improper Vouching

The prosecutor improperly vouched for the veracity of the government’s key witness, Officer Russell, in two ways. First, the prosecutor directly vouched for Officer Russell’s testimony by stating his personal belief that the officer was not lying. The prosecutor stated: “He came in here and told you the truth about what happened” and later reiterated, “This officer didn’t commit perjury. He came in here and told you the truth about what happened.” This was improper vouching by “placing the prestige of the government behind a witness through personal assurances of the witness’s…