People v. Houston

Raymond Houston (appellant) appeals his conviction for second degree murder with a weapon of his estranged wife, Lucille Houston (Houston), for which the trial court sentenced him to a term of 40 years to life in prison. Appellant contends that the trial court violated his constitutional rights by admitting into evidence Houston’s previous statements to police and hospital personnel about appellant’s acts of domestic violence against her; erred in refusing to exclude certain DNA evidence; committed prejudicial error by admitting purportedly improper “bad character” evidence regarding appellant’s extramarital affairs; and should have allowed him an evidentiary hearing to develop purported facts of spectator misconduct that supposedly tainted the jury. Appellant contends that his conviction must be reversed and a new trial granted or, in the alternative, that the matter must be remanded for an evidentiary hearing regarding the purported spectator misconduct. For the reasons stated post, we affirm appellant’s conviction.

BACKGROUND

I. Factual Background

On November 23, 2001, Houston’s friends contacted the police and appellant after Houston had failed to pick up an…