Opinion ID: 1431566
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: admissibility of deceased's prior violent acts

Text: Under common law, a defendant who claims self-defense to a charge of homicide is permitted to introduce evidence of the deceased's violent or aggressive character either to demonstrate the reasonableness of his apprehension of immediate danger or to show that the decedent was the aggressor. State v. Jacoby, 260 N.W.2d 828 (Iowa 1977), Annot., 1 A.L.R.3d 571 (1965). And, where character evidence is offered to show the reasonableness of the defendant's apprehension, he must lay a foundation, prior to the admission of the evidence, that he knew at the time of the homicide of the deceased's reputation or of the specific acts of violence committed. This foundation is required because the evidence is probative of the defendant's state of mind, showing his belief or corroborating his knowledge as to the deceased's character and tending to prove that he acted as a reasonably prudent person would under similar beliefs and circumstances. See, Ibid, McMorris v. State, 58 Wis.2d 144, 205 N.W.2d 559 (1973). Accord, Territory v. Aquino, 43 Haw. 347 (1959). But, the foundation is not required where the factual issue is to determine the aggressor. State v. Jacoby, supra . Proof of the deceased's violent and turbulent character in this situation is circumstantial evidence of the likelihood of his being the aggressor and of the absence of provocation on the part of the defendant. Although Hawaii's laws on justification supersede the common law defense of self-defense, nevertheless, the common law rules on character evidence are applicable. Deceased's conviction record was properly excluded. Absent the required foundation that appellant knew of each of the specific events [3] of the conviction at the time of the homicide, it was inadmissible as proof of the reasonableness of his belief that deadly force was immediately necessary. Appellant's testimony as to his knowledge of all three acts was limited to a single statement that he knew of assaults in Waikiki. [4] Without a more complete connection between appellant's knowledge of the assaults and the conviction record, the foundation was inadequate to justify admission. The trial court also properly excluded the proffered evidence to show by circumstantial proof that the deceased was the aggressor in the fatal incident. The record does not support a factual dispute as to who was the aggressor. The State did not seek to establish the applicability of § 703-304 by showing that the appellant with intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, provoked the use of force against himself. Where the details of the fatal encounter are free from doubt, a defendant cannot bootstrap into evidence the character of deceased to serve improperly as an excuse for the killing under the pretext of evidencing deceased's aggression. See Dempsey v. State, 159 Tex.Cr.R. 602, 266 S.W.2d 875 (1954); 1 Wigmore, Evidence, Sec. 3 (3d ed. 1940). Evidence as to the rape and beating could have been admitted as bearing on appellant's state of mind, but such admission rests in the sound discretion of the trial court. McAllister v. State, 74 Wis.2d 246, 246 N.W.2d 511 (1976). The trial court was required to weigh the probative value of this evidence against the prejudicial impact on the minds of the jurors. Not only was the rape incident remotely connected to the circumstances of this case, there was no foundation as to when it happened. We find no abuse of discretion here.