Court Opinion

ID: 9507002
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-06 21:16:39.300707+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:07:12.780300
License: Public Domain

MR. JUSTICE CASTLES
(specially concurring) :
I concur in the opinion of Justice John Conway Harrison.
I do choose to respond briefly to the dissenting opinion. There it is stated that, “The parties had not had any contact for three years prior to the action here.” This is simply not so. The facts recited in the majority opinion are correct. Between June of 1971 and June of 1972, the defendant crashed his car through his ex-wife’s garage doors on two occasions and on another occasion assaulted her with a knife at the office where *32she worked. These incidents were testified to show the knowing purpose of defendant and to negate mistake and accident, and the jury was instructed as to this. Also the evidence showed that even after the divorce in 1971 defendant lived at his ex-wife’s home until June, 1972.
Separate from these acts, the matter of the defendant’s character and reputation for peace and quiet in the community was brought on by defendant’s character witnesses. It was only on cross-examination that inquiry was made into the past events. This is proper. See State v. Simtob, (Mont.1975), 544 P.2d 1210, and cases cited therein.