Can a prosecutor make an improper vouching statement when referring to a witness's testimony?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Goodwin, B197574 (Cal. App. 2015):

36 Cal.4th at p. 216 [there was no improper vouching where the prosecutor, referring to a witness's testimony, said " 'The only thing I have ever told him is to tell the truth, nothing but the truth, and that's what he did for you' "; the prosecutor "was no more than expressing his view of and reasonable inferences from the totality of the evidence"]; see also United States v. Necoechea (9th Cir. 1993) 986 F.2d 1273, 1279 [prosecutor stated, " 'I submit to you, ladies and gentlemen, that she's not lying. I submit to you that she's telling the truth' "; the court concluded that "[t]hese 'I submit' statements do not constitute vouching," and "do not imply that the government is assuring [the witness's] veracity"].)

There was no misconduct here.

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