Can evidence of domestic violence be used to prove a defendant has a propensity to commit domestic violence?

Evidence Code section 1109 is an exception to the rule prohibiting evidence of prior acts to demonstrate that the defendant has a propensity to commit those acts. Pursuant to that section, prior incidents of domestic violence are admissible to prove the defendant tends to commit acts of domestic violence and therefore committed the charged act. (Evid. Code, 1109.) "'The propensity inference is particularly appropriate in the area of domestic violence because on-going violence and abuse is the norm in domestic violence cases. Not only is there a great likelihood that any one battering episode is part of a larger scheme of dominance and control, that scheme usually escalates in frequency and severity. Without the propensity inference, the escalating nature of domestic violence is likewise masked.'" (People v. Hoover (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 1020, 1027-1028.)

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