Examples of Improper Remarks During Closing Argument

In Crump v. State, 622 So. 2d 963 (Fla. 1993), the court concluded that fundamental error did not occur when the prosecutor made an isolated remark during closing argument in the guilt-innocence phase which characterized the defendant as "an 'octopus' clouding the water in order to 'slither away.' " Id. at 971. The court stated in McDonald v. State, 743 So. 2d 501, 505 (Fla. 1999) that while some of the prosecutor's remarks may have been overly emotional and were "ill-advised," id. at 505, they nevertheless did not constitute fundamental error. The same logic applies in the instant case, because "the prosecutor's comments did not so taint the jury's verdict . . . as to warrant a new trial." Id. In Davis v. State, 698 So. 2d 1182 (Fla. 1997) There, the appellant asserted that the prosecutor engaged in impermissible argument by characterizing the appellant's statements, which had been made to the police, as "bald-faced lies." Id. at 1190. The court concluded that the assertion was unavailing, because: When it is understood from the context of the argument that the charge of untruthfulness is made with reference to the evidence, the prosecutor is merely submitting to the jury a conclusion that he or she is arguing can be drawn from the evidence. Id. at 1190.