Can evidence of domestic violence be admitted in a criminal case?

California's evidentiary rules ordinarily bar admission of evidence of a defendant's prior acts when offered to prove a defendant's conduct on a specific occasion ( 1101), but section 1109 provides an exception to that general rule. Section 1109 allows introduction of evidence about a defendant's prior acts of domestic violence in a criminal action in which the defendant is accused of an offense involving domestic violence to show the defendant's propensity to commit domestic violence "if the evidence is not inadmissible pursuant to [s]ection 352." ( 1109, subd. (a)(1); People v. Hoover (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 1020, 1024.) Thus, evidence of prior domestic violence may be admitted

Page 7