United States v. Hasting

Background

Five young men were tried for kidnapping and repeated sexual assaults of three women after the victims were forced off the road on October 11, 1979. The women described the attackers, identified the men in lineups, and police found victims’ property and a distinctive car tied to the defendants. The defendants did not testify and defended on consent and mistaken-identification theories. During closing, the prosecutor commented on what the defendants “did not” do, and a mistrial request was denied; a jury convicted all five.

Reasoning

On appeal the circuit court reversed, saying the prosecutor’s comment violated the defendants’ right not to testify and ordering a new trial without applying the usual harmless-error test. The Supreme Court assumed there was error but held that a reviewing court must apply Chapman’s harmless-error test rather than use supervisory power to reverse simply to punish prosecutorial comments. The Court examined the record, found strong identifications, corroborating witnesses, physical evidence, and inconsistent and weak defense evidence, and concluded any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.

Real world impact

The ruling means appellate courts must consider the full trial record and may not automatically order new trials to discipline prosecutors for ambiguous references to a defendant’s silence. Convictions may stand when the record shows beyond a reasonable doubt that the verdict would not have changed. The Court remanded remaining claims to the court of appeals for further consideration.

Dissents or concurrances

Some Justices said the prosecutor’s comments were not unconstitutional and criticized the Court’s sua sponte harmless-error review; others urged remand for the court of appeals to apply Chapman.