People v. Moya CA2/6

DISCUSSION

Moya contends the prosecutor engaged in misconduct by asking Furlong questions regarding the prohibition against sex offenders entering school grounds. But Moya did not object to the prosecutor’s questions. Nor has he shown that it would have been futile to do so. He has thus forfeited his contention on appeal. (People v. Powell (2018) 6 Cal.5th 136, 171.) Reversal would not be warranted even if Moya had objected. “A prosecutor’s conduct violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the federal Constitution when it infects the trial with such unfairness as to make the conviction a denial of due process. 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 trial court or the jury. Furthermore, and particularly pertinent here, when the claim focuses upon comments made by the prosecutor before the jury, the question is whether there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury construed or applied any of the complained-of remarks in an objectionable fashion.” (People v. Morales (2001) 25 Cal.4th 34, 44.) Here, the…