What is the standard for determining whether a mistake by a prosecutor in a motion brought before a jury has prejudiced the trial?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Theus, B217486 (Cal. App. 2011):

We reject appellants' assertion that the error in question rendered their trial fundamentally unfair. As the trial court noted, the single comment by the prosecutor was fleeting. As a result, we decline to use the federal harmless error standard of Chapman v. California (1967) 386 U.S. 18, and instead determine whether, based on the totality of the evidence, it is reasonably probable a result more favorable to appellants would have resulted absent the prosecutor's error. (People v. Watson (1956) 46 Cal.2d 818, 836.) Under that test, appellants fail to demonstrate any undue prejudice for several reasons.

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