People v. Redondo CA4/3

DISCUSSION

I.

PRIOR ACTS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Redondo first contends that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of, and instructing the jury about, his prior uncharged acts of domestic violence, and that these errors prejudiced him because they enabled Alicia to win the “credibility contest” at trial. We find no error. As a general rule, the prosecution cannot use specific instances of a defendant’s prior conduct to prove his conduct on a specific occasion. (Evid. Code, § 1101, subd. (a).) However, Evidence Code section 1109 (section 1109) creates a limited exception to this rule and allows the admission of evidence related to a defendant’s other acts of domestic violence “in a criminal action in which the defendant is accused of an offense involving domestic violence.” (Id., subd. (a)(1).) “Section 1109 thus supplants the usual rule of evidence that evidence of past conduct is not admissible to prove a defendant’s conduct on a

3 specified occasion.” (People v. Hoover (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 1020, 1026.) We review a trial court’s decision to admit evidence under section 1109 for abuse of discretion. (People v. Mani (2022) 74 Cal.App.5th 343, 358 (Mani).) Redondo asserts…