Propensity Evidence
This type of evidence is admissible in a domestic violence case to prove the character of a person to show conformity therewith, in other words, to prove propensity.
What is evidence of defendant's commission of another offense of domestic violence or "other crimes evidence"?
See, 725 ILCS 115-7.4 and IRE404b2
Generally other crimes, wrongs and/or acts are NOT admissible to prove propensity HOWEVER the rule is different in a domestic battery case.
What is a hearing (conducted outside the presence of the jury)?
See 725 ILCS 5/115-10
This constitutional right is put in issue when the State seeks to admit a 911 call.
What is the 6th Amendment right of confrontation?
This is what a defendant must reasonably believe before he is justified in using force to defend himself.
What is that it is necessary to defend against the imminent use of unlawful force?
This is the standard of review for the trial court's decision on whether to admit other crimes evidence in a domestic violence case.
What is abuse of discretion?
This is the phrase from the statute a defense attorney may use in arguing evidence that the defendant committed other acts of domestic violence should not be admitted.
What is Undue Prejudice?
See, 115-7.4 (b) "In weighing the probative value of the evidence against undue prejudice to the defendant, the court may consider: . . .
Before a child-victim's out of court statement concerning domestic violence may be admitted, the court must consider whether thee 3 things provide sufficient safeguards of reliability.
What are the (1) time (2) content and (3) circumstances of the statement?
See, 5/115-10
The trial court must examine this person's intent from the objective circumstances when determining if the victim's 911 call is testimonial or non-testimonial for confrontation clause purposes.
What is the government/interrogator's intent (e.g., the 911 dispatcher).
If the primary objective of the interrogator is to investigate past events, the call content is considered testimonial and is subject to 6th amendment safeguards. If the primary purpose of the interrogator is to understand an ongoing situation, determine whether police should be dispatched or understand the potential threat to victim and police, then the 911 call is considered non-testimonial and does not trigger 6th amendment safeguards.
When self-defense is raised, the victim's character for these traits is relevant to show who the aggressor was.
What are traits for aggressiveness and/or violence?
See IRA 404A2
NOTE: Character evidence comes in through reputation and/or opinion testimony; not through a retelling of conduct on a specific occasion.
However, when there is a dispute about who the 1st aggressor was, then the defendant may introduce evidence of specific conduct by an alleged victim (even conduct that post dates the events at issue.) See, P v. Degrave, 2023 IL App (1st) 192479.
What is more than a "mere suspicion"?
State is only required to show the evidence of defendant's prior domestic violence by the standard more than a mere suspicion. Testimony by witnesses
These are the 3 statutory factors the court may consider in weighing whether prior domestic violence would be unduly prejudicial to defendant.
What are:
1. the proximity in time to the charged/predicate offense;
2. the degree of factual similarity to the charged/predicate offense;
3. other relevant facts and circumstances.
This is the age the child-victim must be under before the statutory hearsay exception found at 115/10 of the Code of Criminal Procedure applies.
What is under age 13 years (or within 3 months after commission of the offense, whichever occurs later)?
Note: the child's age at the time of the proceeding is not determinative. Look to age of child at the time the child's statement was made.
This is the most common hearsay exception cited in CR203 for admission of a 911 call.
What is the excited utterance exception?
True or False: evidence that the protected party contacted the defendant is a valid defense to a violation of order of protection charge.
What is FALSE.
These types of statements might be used in domestic violence prosecution when the witness is "unavailable" to testify.
What are prior statements made by the witness?
5/115-10.2a
This is the timeframe when the prosecution is required to disclose its intent to offer evidence of defendant's prior acts of domestic violence unless good cause is shown.
What is a reasonable time in advance of trial?
The state must give reasonable notice of these 2 things before a child-victim's hearsay statement may be offered into evidence.
What are notice of:
1. the State's intent to offer the statement; and,
2. the particulars of the statement?
The court must find these three ingredients before the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule is satisfied.
What are:
1. an event/condition sufficiently startling to produce a spontaneous and unreflecting statement;
2. absence of time to fabricate (statement made while the excitement of the event predominated)
3. the statement relates to the excitement-producing event/condition.
A doctor's diagnosis offered by a lay person in a manner such as "my doctor told me I had a concussion" is an example of this.
What is hearsay?
NOTE: There is no hearsay exception for statements made by a physician to their patient. Medical diagnoses are generally considered to be hearsay.
Statements made by a patient to a health care provider *for purposes of treatment are a recognized exception to the hearsay rule.
These are ways that proof can be made of defendant's prior acts of domestic violence at trial.
What are:
1. specific instances of conduct,
2. testimony of reputation (only after defendant has offered reputation testimony),
3. testimony in the form of expert opinion.
What type of evidence is required during the trial before the child-victim's hearsay statement may be admitted if the child-victim does not testify at the trial or is ruled to be unavailable?
What is corroborative evidence?
(Corroborative evidence requirement may come i form of other witnesses' testimony about what they saw/heard/experienced, medical evidence, or otherwise)
A testimonial out of court statement (such as a 911 call) is only admissible under the Crawford ruling if the witness is available for cross-examination at trial OR this has occurred.
The defendant had a prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness.