CALIFORNIA EVIDENCE: CIVIL AND CRIMINAL
...Discretion to Exclude Relevant Evid.
......Discretion of Court
.........Process for Exercising Discretion
 18 Cards On This Topic:
  • Evidence of D's former employment in slaughter house properly admitted where V's body showed "defendant slaughtered her much like an animal would be slaughtered."
  • No abuse of discretion in admitting into evidence coD's erotic jailhouse letters to D.
  • No error in excluding: evidence D's grandmother hated men and a neighbor's description of her; D's expert testimony re "mitigating psychological factors associated with strangulation as a method of homicide."
  • Evidence near murder site properly admitted as tending to show D was in vicinity shortly before murder, which in turn tended to connect him to possible murder weapon.
  • No error in admitting officer's testimony about condition of V's body when found where statement stricken, jury twice admonished to disregard, and not likely it affected jury's conclusion given other evidence.
  • Evidence D had knife two months after instant crimes, coupled with evidence perpetrator used sharp instrument like D's knife to slit screen door and cut phone cords at crime scene, tended to establish D was the perpetrator.
  • Court did not err in denying motion to strike W's testimony as irrelevant when W couldn't identify D in court.
  • Assuming court barred expert from considering D's hearsay statement that he took coke on morning of murder, no prejudice where expert allowed to testify to his opinion D was in fact impaired.
  • No abuse of discretion in refusing to let D impeach W with questions about W's violent conduct where it was collateral and jury knew of W's prior murders and prison gang membership.
  • Evidence that D talked about using guns and committing murder and rape soon after rapes and murders, all involving guns, properly admitted as circumstantial evidence he committed them.
  • Abuse of discretion to admit in elder abuse case a citation issued by Dept. of Public Health against nursing home; no balancing of probative value v. jury confusion.
  • No error had court excluded girlfriend's testimony that D didn't understand Spanish in case where another D yelled "shoot, shoot" in Spanish before the murder.
  • Court acted within its discretion in refusing to hear late renewed PC 995 motion where no explanation given for delay, jury panel ordered, and motion likely to be time consuming.
  • Proper exercise of discretion under Evid. Code §352 requires weighing probative value and necessity of evidence.
  • Necessity depends, in part, on whether there is other evidence on issue.
  • Court implicitly exercised Evid. Code §352 discretion in excluding interview tapes re D's "state of mind."
  • Failure of record to reflect exercise of discretion is error.
  • Evid. Code §352 ruling by court not sua sponte. Exercise of discretion does not require affirmative findings.


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