People v. Tucker

Defendant was found guilty of one count of first-degree murder and two counts of armed robbery. Defendant appealed arguing the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress custodial statements, when it allowed the State to use testimony from a peer-reviewing forensic scientists rather than offering testimony from the individual who actually tested the evidence, and that the prosecutor committed misconduct during closing and rebuttal. The appellate court affirmed finding that Defendant’s invocation of his Miranda rights was not clear and unambiguous and that even if the testimony of the expert witness violated defendant’s right to confrontation it did not satisfy the requirements of plain error review because the evidence was not closely balanced. The appellate court also found no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. (McBRIDE and BURKE, concurring)