prosecutorial misconduct
prosecutorial misconduct. Criminal law. A prosecutor’s improper or illegal act (or failure to act), esp. involving an attempt to avoid required disclosure or to persuade the jury to wrongly convict a defendant or assess an unjustified punishment. • If prosecutorial misconduct results in a mistrial, a later prosecution may be barred under the Double Jeopardy Clause. [Cases: Constitutional Law 257.5, 268(8); Criminal Law 700(1).C.J.S. Constitutional Law §§ 993–995, 1072–1073; Criminal Law §§ 486, 490, 495–496, 1233–1234, 1236, 1252.]
