Opinion ID: 2520889
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Pretrial agreement regarding Hauge's theory of defense

Text: Prior to the commencement of trial, Hauge discussed his theory of defense with the circuit court. Hauge initially represented that he would argue that there was police bias and wrongful motive against him and that he intended to allege that the HPD had intentionally mishandled the evidence in order to frame him with respect to the burglary. Both the circuit court and the DPA, however, suggested to Hauge that such a theory would likely result in the prosecution's introduction of evidence of other crimes as rebuttal. In the face of this warning, Hauge opted to pursue the theory that the blood samples had been negligently mishandled. Accordingly, the prosecution withdrew its motion to compel Hauge to undergo further blood testing.