Can a prosecutor who uses deceptive or reprehensible methods to persuade the jury commit misconduct?

Preliminarily, defendants failed to object to the prosecutor's remarks and did not request a jury admonition. Consequently, they forfeited their misconduct claims. (People v. Hinton (2006) 37 Cal.4th 839, 863.) Defendants seek excusal of forfeiture on the ground that an admonition would not have cured the harm. In the alternative, they contend trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in failing to make a timely objection.

Were this court to reach the merits of the claim, it would appear the argument crossed the line of impropriety. "The standards governing review of misconduct claims are settled. 'A prosecutor who uses deceptive or reprehensible methods to persuade the jury commits misconduct, and such actions require reversal under the federal Constitution when they infect the trial with such " 'unfairness as to make the resulting conviction a denial of due process.' " [Citations.] Under state law, a prosecutor who uses such methods commits misconduct even when those actions do not result in a fundamentally unfair trial.' " (People v. Friend (2009) 47 Cal.4th 1, 29.)

Page 48