Opinion ID: 2211561
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Agency Order

Text: We agree with the prosecution that the Court of Appeals erred in concluding that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting evidence of the existence of the agency order. In this case, the prosecution did not offer the evidence for the purpose of demonstrating defendant's bad character by means of an inference from his having violated the order. The evidence was instead clearly relevant because it explained the complainant's testimony regarding the threat used by defendant in an effort to secure her silence. The complainant testified that defendant told her that if she reported the incident to her mother, her mother would be really upset with [her] for breaking her family up again.... Evidence regarding the existence of an agency order that effectively separated the family filled a conceptual void regarding the events by providing information that the jury needed to understand defendant's reference to breaking up the family again. See Starr, supra at 502, 577 N.W.2d 673. We conclude that the evidence was also relevant to the issue of the complainant's delay in reporting the assault, even though defendant ultimately chose not to vigorously argue that the delay signified that the assault did not occur. Materiality does not mean that the evidence must be directed at an element of a crime or an applicable defense. Mills, supra at 67-68, 537 N.W.2d 909. Rather, a material fact is one that is `in issue' in the sense that it is within the range of litigated matters in controversy. Id. at 68, 537 N.W.2d 909, quoting United States v. Dunn, supra at 1281. Evidence regarding the existence of the agency order shed light on the family secret that possibly caused the complainant to hesitate before reporting the abuse for fear that the report would get her parents in trouble. Therefore, viewed from the trial court's perspective at the time it ruled on the prosecution's motion, the evidence was admissible to explain the complainant's delay in reporting the assault in order to rebut defendant's claim that the complainant fabricated the allegation of a sexual assault. We further conclude that the probative value of the evidence was not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. MRE 403. We disagree with the Court of Appeals that the evidence implied that defendant was on parole at the time of the instant offense. The trial court took great care to reduce the likelihood that the jury would draw a unfairly prejudicial inference from the evidence by precluding any reference to the origins of the order. Under these circumstances, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the evidence.