Can a prosecutor improperly refer to information not in evidence (i.e. what a defense lawyer knew about his client's involvement) in a criminal case?

Here, although the prosecutor impermissibly referred to information not in evidence (i.e., what a defense lawyer knew about his client's involvement), the prosecutor's misconduct was very minor. His remarks were confined to the summation, and were made in response to defense contentions. The prosecutor never disregarded the district court's instructions, and in fact apologized in front of the jury, which provides some basis for inferring that his remark was unintentional. See United States v. Modica, 663 F.2d at 1181 (one of the factors in determining the severity of the alleged misconduct is the "extent to which the misconduct was intentional").

In addition, the likelihood that any prejudice resulted from this solitary remark is extremely remote. The remark came after two days of summations at the very end of a trial that spanned seven weeks. The risk of influencing the jury through one inappropriate remark was therefore minimal. United States v. Sprayregen, 577 F.2d 173,

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