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State v. Hendricks11/16/2001
ssaulted the victim in front of their daughters by beating her head into the ground. The State asserted that the evidence of defendant's prior bad acts of domestic violence was admissible to show the context in which the violence between defendant and Ms. Lee took place, and as a response to defendant's anticipated claims of self-defense and accidental injury. Defendant filed a motion in limine to bar the use of the uncharged misconduct evidence. While conceding that " here will be a defense that approaches a self-defense concept," defendant claimed the introduction of prior uncharged misconduct evidence would impermissibly establish that defendant had a propensity for assaultive conduct. Prior to the start of trial on November 4, 1999, the court heard argument from the parties on defendant's motion in limine, and denied defendant's motion, thus permitting the State to introduce evidence of the 1993 and 1997 incidents.
In denying defendant's motion, the trial court explained, "I think those two prior incidents, aside from the fact one is really an element of the crime, the conviction itself, but more than the conviction the facts as described to me now . . . are admissible under Sanders for context purposes." We agree. In State v. Sanders, 168 Vt. 60, 62, 716 A.2d 11, 13 (1998), we held that prior domestic assaults may be properly admitted to give context to a domestic violence charge because " llegations of a single act of domestic violence, taken out of its situational context, are likely to seem incongruous and incredible to a jury." (internal citations omitted).
This case presents exactly the circumstances to which the reasoning of Sanders applies. The jury was presented with a single act of domestic violence. Defendant asserted that his actions during the incident were in self-defense, and that injuries to the victim occurred either in defending himself or as a result of the victim's previous accidental fall.
In reviewing the trial court's admission of evidence under Rule 404(b), we must determine whether the evidence was relevant and material to the action. Sanders, 168 Vt. at 62, 716 A.2d at 13. Here the introduction of two prior instances of defendant's abuse of the same victim was not to show defendant's propensity to commit such abuse, but rather, "to provide the jury with an understanding of defendant's actions on the date in question." Id.
Upon deciding the evidence of prior bad acts is relevant and material, we must then determine whether the trial court abused its discretion in deciding that the introduction of such evidence was more probative than prejudicial under V.R.E. 403. Although " vidence tending to inculpate the defendant always carries with it some prejudice," Kelley, 163 Vt. at 329, 664 A.2d at 711, the trial court did not abuse its discretion by deciding that the evidence in question was more probative than prejudicial.
B. Bad Acts Instruction
Defendant also claims that the court did not give a proper limiting instruction regarding the prior bad acts. Specifically, defendant contends that the court did not properly instruct the jury: (1) that the State bore the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that defendant committed the prior bad acts; (2) that the jury may not consider the evidence as tending to show defendant's character, or that he acted in conformity with that character in committing the alleged crime; or, (3) the limited purpose for which the prior bad acts were admitted.
The court offered to "take any . . . language" suggested by counsel at the charge conference for the final charge. In its final charge, the court instructed:
Evidence has been introduced in t
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