California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Samaniego, H035530 (Cal. App. 2011):
" 'The applicable federal and state standards regarding prosecutorial misconduct are well established. " 'A prosecutor's . . . intemperate behavior violates the federal Constitution when it comprises a pattern of conduct "so egregious that it infects the trial with such unfairness as to make the conviction a denial of due process.[Citations.] Conduct by a prosecutor that does not render a criminal trial fundamentally unfair is prosecutorial misconduct under state law only if it involves " ' "the use of deceptive or reprehensible methods to attempt to persuade either the court or the jury." ' " [Citation.]' [Citations.]" (People v. Hill (1998) 17 Cal.4th 800, 819.) Thus, for example, federal constitutional error may be found where a pervasive pattern of misconduct "threatened defendant's right to a fair trial." (Id. at p. 838.)
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