In a personal injury case, is there any evidence that prior violence against a defendant by the alleged victim relevant?

We agree with defendant that when self-defense is at issue, evidence about prior violence against a defendant by an alleged victim is relevant to show that the alleged victim may have been the initial aggressor. (See Evid. Code, 210, 1103; People v. Smith (1967) 249 Cal.App.2d 395, 404-405.) But the trial court's explanation at the new trial motion was that at the time the question was asked and objected to, no self-defense theory had yet been raised by the defense. This is correct, because the defense had reserved making an opening statement until the close of the People's case-in-chief. Further, this issue did not surface in the in limine motions. Although we agree with defendant that no offer of proof or pretrial motion was required to preserve the issue for

Page 12