State v. Purrier, 336 P.3d 574

Defendant was convicted on two counts of harassment and one count of fourth-degree assault after a jury trial; assault acquitted.
State charged that defendant punched the victim, his wife, on two occasions; harassment charges stemmed from those incidents.
Defense theory alleged the victim fabricated the restraining order claim to pursue another man, Dupree.
Defense did not call witnesses or present a case; closing attacked victim and Dupree credibility.
Prosecutor rebuttal argued about choosing between two stories and credibility, prompting defense to object as misstate of burden.
Trial court overruled the objection; defendant appealed arguing misstatement and prejudice; issue whether error was harmless.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Did the prosecutor misstate the burden of proof in closing argument?	Worth: prosecutor’s two-story analogy misled about burden.	Harassment verdict prejudiced by misstatement of law.	No reversible error; harmless beyond reasonable doubt.
Was any error in overruling the objection to the rebuttal argument harmless?	Argument would have misled jurors about burden and verdict.	Trial court error prejudiced the defense.	Harmless error; instructions and context reduced impact.

State v. Rosasco, 103 Or 343 (1922) (burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt by the state)
State v. Brown, 306 Or 599 (1988) (jury weighs credibility; burden remains with state)
State v. Monsebroten, 106 Or App 761 (1991) (rebuttal argument about lack of evidence; not implying defendant bears burden)
Covington v. Florida, 842 So 2d 170 (2003) (prosecutor cannot improperly characterize jury’s task about burden)
State v. Davis, 336 Or 19 (2003) (Oregon test: whether error likely affected verdict)
State v. Middleton, 256 Or App 173 (2013) (jury presumed to follow instructions on burden of proof)
State v. Smith, 310 Or 1 (1990) (instructional credibility analysis in closing arguments)