If a prosecutor overstepped the bounds of permissible argument, would the jury follow the standard of proof given by the trial court?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Schwarz, C059021 (Cal. App. 2015):

Moreover, even if we agreed the prosecutor overstepped the bounds of permissible argument, such error did not cause any prejudice. The trial court instructed the jury to follow the law as given by the trial court, not the attorneys, and the prosecutor referred to the reasonable doubt instruction given by the trial court before making the challenged remarks. If the jury interpreted the prosecutor's remarks as describing a lower standard of proof, there is no reason to believe it would have followed that standard rather than the standard given by the trial court. We presume the jury would follow the trial court's instructions, including the instruction to disregard those statements of the law given by attorneys that conflicted with the instructions. (People v. Sanchez (2001) 26 Cal.4th 834, 852 (Sanchez).)

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