Opinion ID: 853717
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Exclusion of Evidence Regarding Other Baby Monitors

Text: A Fisher Price model 1510 baby monitor was in the Wises' home. Wise contends that the trial court erred by excluding as irrelevant evidence that other brands of baby monitors could cause fires. Relevant evidence is evidence that tends to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Ind. Evidence Rule 401. We review a trial court's ruling as to relevance for an abuse of discretion. See Willsey v. State, 698 N.E.2d 784, 793 (Ind.1998) (citing Thompson v. State, 690 N.E.2d 224, 233 (Ind. 1997)). Wise's argument focuses on the fire hazard potential of both baby monitors and step-down transformers used to reduce the voltage from 120 volt house current to nine volts for baby monitors. He contends that the State opened the door to this testimony when one of its witnesses testified that the transformer used with the Wises' monitor was similar to those used in other electrical devices, but that he had never seen one generate the amount of heat necessary to ignite the plastic housing of a device. The trial court permitted testimony that the transformer used with the baby monitor and other appliances could have caused a fire. It also allowed Wise to cross-examine the State's witnesses and offer his own expert testimony that the Fisher Price 1510 and the step-down transformer in Matthew's room could have caused the fire. The only limitation imposed by the trial court excluded evidence that a different make and model of baby monitor (the Gerry 602 or 603) had been known to cause fires. There was a dispute whether the Fisher Price 1510 and the Gerry 600 series had similar parts. Under these circumstances the trial court did not abuse its discretion by determining that evidence relating to other brands of baby monitors was irrelevant to the charges against Wise.