Can evidence of domestic violence be used in a prosecution for an offense involving domestic violence?

Section 1109 permits evidence of other incidents of domestic violence in a prosecution for "an offense involving domestic violence." The statute operates not only in a prosecution for a charge of domestic violence specifically but also where the defendant is charged with a violent offense committed in circumstances that show it was "abuse" committed against a present or former spouse, cohabitant or person with whom the suspect has had a child or a dating or engagement relationship. ( 1109, subd. (d)(3); Pen. Code, 13700, subd. (b); People v. Brown, supra, 192 Cal.App.4th at p. 1237.)¹³

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