Is a prosecutor permitted to comment on a witness's testimony?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Alvarez, F064349 (Cal. App. 2016):

Moreover, this claim fails on the merits. Prosecutors have a "solemn obligation to present evidence only if it advances rather than impedes the search for truth and justice." (People v. Seaton (2001) 26 Cal.4th 598, 649.) A prosecutor represents the sovereignty whose interest in a criminal case is obtaining justice and not winning a case, and a prosecutor cannot be the architect of a trial that does not match the standards of justice. (Id. at pp. 649-650.) However, a prosecutor is permitted to offer an opinion regarding the state of the evidence, and he or she has wide latitude to comment on a witness's

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