How have the courts dealt with errors made by a prosecutor in his closing argument?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Garcia, F062075 (Cal. App. 2012):

Further, any error was harmless in light of the correct instructions given to the jury. The trial court properly instructed the jury on the elements of attempted murder and criminal liability as an aider and abettor. The trial court also told the jury, "If you believe that the [attorneys'] comments on the law conflict with my instructions you must follow my instructions." The jury was also given a written copy of the instructions, which included the admonition to follow the court's instructions over conflicting attorney statements. Under these circumstances, it is not reasonably probable that the jury was misled by the prosecutor's statements. (People v. Medina, supra, 11 Cal.4th at p. 760 [prosecutor's misstatement of law during closing argument was harmless where jury was instructed that court's instructions on law controlled over conflicting statements from attorneys].)

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