Commonwealth v. Ferguson

DOWLING, Judge:

Appellant, Rene Ferguson; was tried before a jury and found guilty of rape and involuntary deviate sexual intercourse. His contentions, on direct appeal, concern the putative prosecutorial misconduct in the Commonwealth’s summation and cross-examination of Defendant.

The standards for judging prosecutorial misconduct are well established. Any caustic, ill-advised or otherwise improper remarks by the Commonwealth are not necessarily grounds for a new trial. Commonwealth v. Stoltzfus, 462 Pa. 43, 337 A.2d 873. Reversible error attaches only where: “. . . the unavoidable effect of…