- Court: Oregon Supreme Court
- Area(s) of Law: Criminal Law
- Date Filed: 03-01-2018
- Case #: S064500
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Landau, Senior J. pro tempore for the Court; Balmer, Chief J.; Kistler, J.; Walters, J.; Nakamoto, J.; Tookey, J. pro tempore.
- Full Text Opinion
Defendant appealed conviction of felony fourth-degree assault constituting domestic violence. Defendant assigned error to the trial court's admission of evidence that he had assaulted his previous partners in the last fourteen years. On appeal, Defendant argued that evidence of prior incidents of DV do not show why he assaulted the victim in this case, therefore, the evidence should be inadmissible. In response, the State argued that the acts show evidence of intent and motive through the similar injuries and similar circumstances of trying to assert dominance and control over his partners. Under OEC 404(3), in order to admit evidence of violent behavior for non-propensity purposes, the state must "show some substantial connecting link between the two acts," that is, between the other act and the charged act. State v. Flett, 234 Or 124, 380 P2d 634 (1963). The Court of Appeals held that s substantial connecting link was not present between the two incidents and this one because each of the motives in the various assaults differed. Reversed and remanded.