Court Opinion

ID: 9943781
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-02-26 14:36:11.449381+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:44:46.123367
License: Public Domain

I respectfully dissent. The question of ownership of the knife which was used to kill Bienvenido was crucial. The testimony of Martha that the knife used belonged to defendant directly contradicted defendant's claim that the victim had the knife and that defendant had disarmed him, acting in self-defense. The evidence of the religious practice in which the knife was used was not irrelevant. The testimony concerning defendant's participation in the religious sacrifice of animals had the effect of enhancing Martha's credibility in that it showed that she had many opportunities to view the knife and was very familiar with its use. Thus she was not likely to be mistaken regarding its ownership. (See Evid. Code, § 210) The damaging effect of Martha's testimony was not the disclosure of defendant's religious practices but rather the fact that the knife used to kill the victim was defendant's own weapon. It is not reasonably probable that a result more favorable to defendant would have been reached in the absence of the alleged misconduct of the prosecutor.
A petition for a rehearing was denied September 7, 1979, and respondent's petition for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied October 4, 1979. *Page 937