People v. Rodgers

In People v. Rodgers, 756 P.2d 980 (Colo. 1988) (en banc), reversing People v. Rodgers, 734 P.2d 145 (Colo. Ct. App. 1986), a majority of the court held that a prosecutor's comment on the defendant's exercise of his right to a jury was error, but also that the evidence of the defendant's guilt was so overwhelming as to make the error harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Three justices dissented in Rodgers, holding that the prosecutor's comments on the defendant's exercise of his right to a jury trial required reversal "without regard to the strength of the state's case against the defendant." 756 P.2d at 986.