California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Marcus J. (In re Marcus J.), A141065 (Cal. App. 2014):
Marcus's claim also fails on the merits. The applicable federal and state standards regarding prosecutorial misconduct are well established. Under California law, a prosecutor commits reversible misconduct if he or she makes use of " 'deceptive or reprehensible methods' " when attempting to persuade the trial court or jury and it is reasonably probable that without such misconduct, an outcome more favorable to the defendant would have resulted. (People v. Riggs (2008) 44 Cal.4th 248, 298.) Under the federal Constitution, conduct by a prosecutor that does not result in the denial of the defendant's specific constitutional rights is not a constitutional violation unless the challenged action " ' "so infected the trial with unfairness as to make the resulting conviction a denial of due process." ' " (Ibid.) Marcus has not demonstrated that the prosecutor did anything " 'deceptive' " or " 'reprehensible' " or that " ' "infected the trial with unfairness." ' "
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