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STATE OF MINNESOTA IN SUPREME COURT A07-1759 Hennepin County State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Alonzo Jerome Graham, Appellant. ________________________ Filed: April 23, 2009 Office of Appellate Courts Anderson, Paul H., J.

Leonardo Castro, Hennepin County Chief Public Defender, Paul J. Maravigli, Assistant Public Defender, Minneapolis, Minnesota, for appellant. Lori Swanson, Minnesota Attorney General, Saint Paul, Minnesota; and Michael O. Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney, Michael K. Walz, Assistant County Attorney, Jean E. Burdorf, Assistant County Attorney, Minneapolis, Minnesota, for respondent. ________________________

SYLLABUS The State did not commit prosecutorial error in requesting independent counsel to represent two alibi witnesses because: (a) the State was able to point to facts which support a reasonable and substantial belief that the witness would offer false or incriminating testimony; and (b) the warnings of self-incrimination were given in an

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appropriate manner and did not preclude the witnesses from making a free and voluntary choice whether to testify. The State did not commit prosecutorial misconduct by objecting to defense counsel's use of impeachment evidence. The State's closing argument was properly based on the evidence and did not amount to prosecutorial error. Appellant's conviction is not void because the unlicensed status of the lead prosecutor did not result in prejudice requiring reversal. Affirmed. OPINION ANDERSON, Paul H., Justice. On May 14, 2007, a Hennepin County jury found appellant Alonzo Graham guilty of one count of first-degree murder while committing or attempting to commit first-degree aggravated robbery, Minn. Stat.

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