What is the current state and federal standard of conduct for misconduct in a criminal case?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Patino, A149686 (Cal. App. 2018):

" 'The applicable federal and state standards regarding prosecutorial misconduct are well established. " '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 the jury." ' " ' " (People v. Hill (1998) 17 Cal.4th 800, 819.)

"To establish misconduct, defendant need not show that the prosecutor acted in bad faith. [Citation.] However, she does need to 'show that, "[i]n the context of the whole argument and the instructions" [citation], there was "a reasonable likelihood the jury understood or applied the complained-of comments in an improper or erroneous manner." ' [Citation.] If the challenged comments, viewed in context, 'would have been taken by a juror to state or imply nothing harmful, [then] they obviously cannot be deemed objectionable.' " (People v. Cortez (2016) 63 Cal.4th 101, 130.)

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