State of Maine v. Angelena Quirion

Summary

The court held that the trial court erred by sustaining the State’s objection to defense counsel’s closing argument that the Walmart bags belonged to the passenger, because evidence supported that inference. It nevertheless affirmed the convictions after applying harmless-error review, concluding that the ruling did not affect the verdict in light of the earlier presentation of the same argument, the limited nature of the ruling, the jury instructions, and the substantial evidence of guilt.