State v. Martinez, 557 P.3d 556

Defendant, Cristal Garcia Martinez, was found in a car that did not belong to her, claiming permission from a friend named Patrick.
The police officer observed damage to the car’s steering column and found burglary tools on Martinez, including a screwdriver, utility knife, and shaved keys.
Martinez claimed Patrick had given her permission and that he purportedly had the owner’s consent; Patrick was never located or contacted during the investigation.
The prosecution, in closing argument, questioned the credibility of Martinez’s story about Patrick, mentioning that no evidence of Patrick existed.
Martinez was convicted by a jury of unauthorized use of a vehicle, second-degree criminal mischief, and possession of a burglary tool.
On appeal, Martinez argued the prosecutor’s statements in closing argument improperly shifted the burden of proof and deprived her of a fair trial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether prosecutor’s closing statement shifted the burden of proof and denied fair trial	Argued that comments were about credibility, not burden-shifting	Asserted that comments improperly suggested defendant had to prove innocence	Statement was improper but not plain error; conviction affirmed

State v. Chitwood, 370 Or 305 (2022) (establishes that unpreserved prosecutorial errors must be so prejudicial as to deprive defendant of a fair trial to warrant reversal)
State v. Durant, 327 Or App 363 (2023) (improper but curable prosecutorial statements are not subject to plain-error review)
State v. Totland, 296 Or App 527 (2019) (prosecutors must not confuse the jury about burden of proof)
State v. Mayo, 303 Or App 525 (2020) (prosecution cannot comment on defendant’s failure to produce evidence to prove innocence)