What is the current state of the law on vouching?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Seumanu, 192 Cal.Rptr.3d 195, 355 P.3d 384, 61 Cal.4th 1293 (Cal. 2015):
worded and vigorous so long as it fairly comments on the evidence admitted at trial or asks the jury to draw reasonable inferences and deductions from that evidence. (People v. Ward (2005) 36 Cal.4th 186, 215, 30 Cal.Rptr.3d 464, 114 P.3d 717.) [S]o long as a prosecutor's assurances regarding the apparent honesty or reliability of prosecution witnesses are based on the facts of [the] record and the inferences reasonably drawn therefrom, rather than any purported personal knowledge or belief, her comments cannot be characterized as improper vouching. (People v. Bonilla, supra, 41 Cal.4th at p. 337, 60 Cal.Rptr.3d 209, 160 P.3d 84.)
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