State v. Diar

Nicole Diar (defendant) was tried for murdering her son and allegedly setting her house on fire to destroy evidence. During the trial, the prosecutor repeatedly asked a witness leading questions designed to establish that Diar deliberately started the fire; the trial judge sustained Diar's objections each time, but the prosecutor kept rephrasing similar leading questions until the desired answer came out. The jury convicted Diar and sentenced her to death, and she appealed, arguing the prosecutor's persistent leading questions amounted to misconduct that prejudiced the jury.