SCOV Law

By Andy Delaney It's been a quiet couple of weeks at SCOV, which works out because I've had the 'vid since last Wednesday.  One opinion on Friday, October 4, 2024.  In general, evidence of prior bad acts is not admissible in evidence to "prove the character of a person in order to show that the person acted in conformity therewith." But it can be admissible to show "motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident." That's the issue in this case.  Defendant was charged with cruelty to a child based on unexplained injuries to his girlfriend's child. He was convicted after a jury trial. At trial, based on a pretrial ruling, the prosecution introduced evidence of a 2012 incident for which defendant was convicted of a similar charge. Another, earlier similar incident was excluded because there was no conviction and the trial court found that the probative value of the proposed evidence was substa