California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Boling, A149317 (Cal. App. 2018):
" ' " '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 jury." ' " [Citation.]' [Citation.]" (People v. Hill (1998) 17 Cal.4th 800, 819.) The defendant need not show that the prosecutor acted in bad faith. (Id. at p. 822.)
" '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 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.' " (People v. Dykes (2009) 46 Cal.4th 731, 771-772.)
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