Is a prosecutor's comment to the jury improper or improper?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Brown, 3 Cal.Rptr.3d 145, 31 Cal.4th 518, 73 P.3d 1137 (Cal. 2003):
Moreover, even were the comment improper, it could not have prejudiced defendant. "To prevail on a claim of prosecutorial misconduct based on remarks to the jury, the defendant must show a reasonable likelihood the jury understood or applied the complained-of comments in an improper or erroneous
[3 Cal.Rptr.3d 182]
manner. [Citations.] In conducting this inquiry, we `do not lightly infer' that the jury drew the most damaging rather than the least damaging meaning from the prosecutor's statements. [Citation.]" (People v. Frye, supra, 18 Cal.4th at p. 970, 77 Cal.Rptr.2d 25, 959 P.2d 183.) In this case, the remarks were brief and fleeting, asserting nothing the evidence did not already suggest: defendant posed a danger to people in the community. Any misconduct was thus harmless.[3 Cal.Rptr.3d 182]
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