Case Name: STATE of Louisiana v. Jeremiah JOHNSTON
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Louisiana
Decision Date: 1998-03-18
Citations: 710 So. 2d 235
Docket Number: No. 98-KK-0640
Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. Jeremiah JOHNSTON.
Judges: CALOGERO, C.J., would grant the rehearing and assigns reasons.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 710
Pages: 235–236

Head Matter:
STATE of Louisiana v. Jeremiah JOHNSTON.
No. 98-KK-0640.
Supreme Court of Louisiana.
March 18, 1998.
CALOGERO, C.J., would grant the rehearing and assigns reasons.
KNOLL, J., would grant the rehearing.
LEMMON, J., not on panel.

Opinion:
CALOGERO, Chief Justice,
dissenting from the denial of rehearing.
I would grant the rehearing application for reasons consistent with this Court's opinion in State v. Welch, 615 So.2d 300 (La.1993). Evidence of a prior volatile and confrontational relationship, including prior acts of violence or threatened violence, between the victim and the defendant is admissible to provide the jury with a context in which to evaluate the acts charged against the defendant even when that evidence does not relate directly to an essential element of the offense or to any specific defense. Thus, the confrontational relationship between the defendant and the victim in the instant case is necessary for the jury to put the events that culminated in the death of the victim in the proper context.