Opinion ID: 2600609
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Cross-examination of Defendant on Past Acts of Child Abuse

Text: Defendant contends the trial court erroneously permitted the prosecution to cross-examine defendant about his acts of child abuse against his niece, Kayla, in violation of Evidence Code section 352. As we explain, we conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in permitting the cross-examination.
During in limine motions, the prosecution sought the admission of several prior acts of child abuse committed by defendant, including two separate incidents involving defendant's niece, Kayla, in which he had intentionally broken her leg and put glue in her mouth. Defense counsel opposed the admission of any evidence of defendant's past acts of child abuse, including the incidents involving Kayla. The trial court tentatively ruled that all the proffered incidents of child abuse were admissible except the glue incident, which the court ruled was more prejudicial than probative under Evidence Code section 352. Notwithstanding the trial court's ruling, the prosecution did not call any witness during its guilt phase case-in-chief to testify about the incident involving Kayla's broken leg. Later, as part of his guilt phase defense, defendant testified on his own behalf and stated that he was a barker, who disciplined children with his loud voice rather than with physical violence. During cross-examination, the prosecutor sought to refute defendant's description of himself as nonviolent by questioning him about his acts of violence against his former wives and girlfriends, including his ex-wife Dorina, who was the mother of defendant's niece, Kayla. [5] Defense counsel objected under Evidence Code section 1101 and relevance grounds to any questions concerning defendant's acts of violence against his former wives and girlfriends. The prosecutor argued for the admissibility of defendant's past acts of violence against women as refuting defendant's testimony, and also reminded the court of its ruling on the in limine motion allowing the use of evidence of Kayla's broken leg. The court sustained defense objections against questions about defendant's acts of violence against adult women, but ruled that it would stand by its previous ruling on the in limine motion involving acts of child abuse and stated if you have violence against children, I'll allow that in. The prosecutor then questioned defendant about an incident 10 years earlier when he was left in charge of his four-month-old niece Kayla and her left femur was broken. As set forth above, defendant testified that Kayla broke her upper femur after she fell from his lap. Defendant became furious when child protective services workers asked him questions about the incident, and he was arrested for assault. The prosecutor then cross-examined defendant about the incident a few months later when Kayla, once again left in defendant's care, ended up with wood glue in her mouth. Defendant testified he did not think it was necessary to take her to the emergency room. Rather, as suggested on the glue bottle, he washed out her mouth with water.
Defendant contends the trial court abused its discretion under Evidence Code section 352 in allowing the prosecution to cross-examination defendant about the two incidents involving Kayla. As a preliminary matter, respondent contends defendant has forfeited this claim on appeal because the only Evidence Code section 352 objection defense counsel made to the crossexamination concerned questions about defendant's acts of violence against adult women (which was sustained); defense counsel, however, failed to object to the trial court's ruling as it pertained to the Kayla incidents, either during the sidebar conference or during the actual cross-examination itself. But the issue is preserved on appeal because, as summarized above, during in limine motions, defense counsel had objected to the admission of both Kayla incidents on Evidence Code section 352 grounds. The issue is preserved because (1) a specific legal ground for exclusion was advanced through an in limine motion and subsequently raised on appeal; (2) the in limine motion was directed to a particular, identifiable body of evidence; and (3) the in limine motion was made at a time, either before or during trial, when the trial judge could determine the evidentiary question in its appropriate context. ( People v. Morris (1991) 53 Cal.3d 152, 190 [279 Cal.Rptr. 720, 807 P.2d 949], disapproved on other grounds in People v. Stansbury (1995) 9 Cal.4th 824, 830, fn. 1 [38 Cal.Rptr.2d 394, 889 P.2d 588].) Indeed, the trial court referenced its in limine ruling concerning child abuse at the crossexamination sidebar conference. In any event, on the merits, both Kayla incidents were relevant to the cross-examination of defendant. Both incidents were probative of the issue of defendant's credibility, since he described himself as someone who would never administer violent physical discipline or abuse to a child, and both incidents involved possible acts of violent physical discipline or abuse to a child. Furthermore, as with the other instances of defendant's past acts of child abuse discussed above (see ante, at pp. 203-205), the probative value of either incident was not outweighed by the probability that it would create a substantial danger of undue prejudice.