State v. Olson

Defendant appealed a judgment of conviction for second-degree assault and unlawful use of a weapon. Defendant assigned error to the trial court's decision to admit evidence of her hostile conduct more than a year after the charged incident. Defendant argued that the evidence was inadmissible under OEC 401, 402, and 404(4) because the evidence was not germane to the issue of whether she used a liquor bottle to attack the victim. The State argued that the error was harmless because the jury already knew about Defendant's aggressive nature through other evidence, and the record contained enough evidence showing that Defendant hit the victim with a liquor bottle. The Court will analyze the nature of erroneously admitted testimony in the context of other evidence on the same issue and whether it would be duplicative, cumulative, or unhelpful to the jury. State v. Davis, 336 Or 19, 33-34, 77 P3d 1111 (2003). The Court held that "the challenged testimony would not likely have affected the jury's verdict in light of other evidence reflecting more directly on defendant's credibility," and that "the challenged evidence was not employed for the purpose of undermining credibility and it would have little bearing in that regard." Affirmed.