Does the prosecutor have any authority to describe the defense itself as illegitimate?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Renderos (In re Renderos), A154730, A157025 (Cal. App. 2020):

Here, the prosecutor did not directly comment on the defense itself as being illegitimate. (Cf. People v. Peau (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 823, 833 [describing defense as "loophole" was improper]; People v. Najera (2006) 138 Cal.App.4th 212, 220-221 [describing defense as "legal fiction" was misleading].) Instead, when viewed in its entirety, the challenged statement

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