The Supreme Court Justice has described prosecutorial misconduct as “overstepp[ing] the bounds of that propriety and fairness which should characterize the conduct of such an officer in the prosecution of a criminal offense.”

Courts have found the following to be acts of prosecutorial misconduct:

1. Bringing criminal charges in bad faith without realistic hope of winning a conviction, such as retaliation against whistleblowers, non-cooperative witnesses, and political rival
2. Making statements to the media that prejudice potential jurors and taint the jury pool
3. Concealing or hiding evidence that shows that the accused did not commit the crime, or casts doubt on the credibility of prosecution witnesses
4. Tampering with evidence
5. Presenting false witness testimony or other false evidence to a court or grand jury
6. Engaging in improper plea-bargaining – for example, convincing a defendant to plead guilty through false promises or misrepresentations about the existence of incriminating evidence
7. Asking a defendant or defense witness damaging and suggestive questions with legitimate basis
8. Using improper investigative techniques, such as entrapment
9. Misrepresenting facts to or lying to the court or the judge about the case
10. Intimidating witnesses and causing them to either give false testimony, or to dissuade witnesses from helping the defendant
11. Discriminating against potential jurors during jury selection on the basis of race, religion, sex, color, or ethnicity
12. Making improper arguments to a jury at a trial 

This last one is the most common. When a prosecutor makes improper arguments to a jury, they violate a defendant’s Constitutional rights to Due Process of Law and a fundamentally fair trial.

Improper arguments to a jury can include:

• Expressing a personal opinion about the case or the evidence
• Expressing a personal opinion about the defendant’s guilt
• Vouching for the prosecutor’s case
• Vouching for the prosecutor’s witnesses
• Engaging in name-calling of the defendant or the defense attorney
• Calling the defendant a liar
• Arguing that if the prosecution witnesses were lying or conspiring, they would have done a better job getting their stories straight
• Shifting the burden of proof onto the defendant
• Arguing that the jury must find that the prosecution witnesses lied in order to find the defendant not guilty
• Arguing that the defense did not present evidence of innocence
• Arguing facts that were not presented to the jury in evidence
• Arguing that evidence is being kept from the jury
• Arguing that the defendant has bad character
• Mischaracterizing the defense
• Misstating the law
• Appealing to the sympathy of the jury for the victim
• Arguing that the jury must convict in order to keep society safe from the defendant
• Making arguments based on race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation
• Accusing the defense lawyer of misleading or lying to the jury
• Commenting on the defendant’s right to remain silent 

If prosecutorial misconduct occurs, a defendant may be entitled to a mistrial, and either a new trial or dismissal of the charges.