State v. Ortiz

Summary

The court affirmed the defendant’s murder conviction after rejecting four claims concerning prosecutorial argument, impeachment of state witnesses, and jury instructions. It held that the prosecutor’s rebuttal comment, even if improper, did not deprive the defendant of a fair trial; the trial court acted within its discretion in limiting impeachment evidence; and the challenged instructions adequately conveyed the governing principles. The court also held that the model instruction’s requirement that uncharged misconduct support a theory “conclusively” was legally incorrect.