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Respondent's Brief - Washington State Courts

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evinces an enduring and resulting prejudice' incurable by a jury<br />

instruction." <strong>State</strong> v. Larios-Lopez, 156 Wn. App. at 260.<br />

The defendant, however, cannot show that the argument was<br />

improper, much less flagrant andill-intentioned. Indeed, the prosecutor,<br />

here was simply summarizing the evidence in the record, and, at most,<br />

drawing a reasonable inference from that evidence.<br />

The contested argument is composed of two sentences.<br />

In the first, the deputy prosecutor said, flully "[ toilet trained and<br />

begins wetting the bed." RP 797. This was simply a summary of<br />

Ellsworth's testimony that C.D. had "began wetting herself," RP 530, and<br />

having "bedwetting problems," RP 539, "after already completing potty<br />

training." RP 530.<br />

The prosecutor's next sentence was that "Ellsworth was here and<br />

said yes, it can be relevant in treating someone's mental health, can be part<br />

of anxiety, ifs simply something noteworthy, less so obviously to the<br />

medical professionals." RP 797. This first part of this sentence was<br />

simply a summary of the testimony. Ellsworth did testify in this trial, RP<br />

522-43, and did testify that the fact that a child who had previously been<br />

fully "potty trained" regresses into bedwetting "can" but "not always" be<br />

an indicator that abuse has occurred. RP 541. Dr. Rebecca Wiester<br />

testified that "bedwetting is a very nonspecific symptom of anxiety,<br />

change," though "it's not something that we generally think of as an<br />

35 - optest-prosm iscsptrial-m cdanjel.doc

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