United States v. Kennon

99-30854Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitAug 24, 2000

Full text

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 99-30854
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
BEVERLY J. KENNON,
Defendant-Appellant.
--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana
USDC No. 99-CR-60008-01
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August 23, 2000
Before KING, Chief Judge, and POLITZ and WIENER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Beverly J. Kennon appeals from her conviction for six counts
of theft of mail by a postal employee in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 1709. She argues that the prosecutor’s improper remarks during
closing argument constituted plain error. We disagree. The
statements made by the prosecutor were improper, suggesting to
the jury that it should convict Kennon based on past misconduct.
However, in light of the district court’s instructions to the
jury and the overwhelming evidence of Kennon’s guilt, the three
statements made by the prosecutor did not substantially affect

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No. 99-30854
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Kennon’s right to a fair trial and therefore did not amount to
constitutional error. See United States v. Sotelo, 97 F.3d 782,
793 (5th Cir. 1996). Accordingly, the judgment of the district
court is AFFIRMED.
AFFIRMED.

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