Jennifer Lee-Renee Wend, Petitioner v. the People of the State of Colorado, Respondent

Summary

The Supreme Court of Colorado held that a prosecutor's repeated use of the word 'lie' and its variants in opening and closing statements is categorically improper and, because the defendant's credibility was essential to her self-defense theory, prejudiced the fundamental fairness of the trial and constituted reversible plain error despite the absence of a contemporaneous objection. The court also rejected the State's waiver argument, reasoning that the defendant's first appeal was cut short, the conviction under review was a new conviction for second-degree murder by provocation entered after the original conviction was vacated, and the categorical prohibition on prosecutorial use of 'lie' was a significant change in the law postdating her first appeal. It reversed the court of appeals and directed remand for a new trial. Justice Eid, joined by Justice Coats, dissented, agreeing the comments were improper but concluding that, evaluated in the context of the entire trial, they did not render the trial fundamentally unfair.