California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Stewart, B226304 (Cal. App. 2011):
The general rule is that evidence of prior crimes is inadmissible to prove the defendant's conduct on a specific occasion. However, it is well established that such evidence may be admissible if relevant to prove a material fact in issue and not simply to establish the defendant's general criminal disposition or "bad character." (People v. Hovarter (2008) 44 Cal.4th 983, 1002.) Section 1101 provides in pertinent part: "(a) Except as provided in this section and in Sections 1102, 1103, 1108, and 1109, evidence of a person's character or a trait of his or her character (whether in the form of an opinion, evidence of reputation, or evidence of specific instances of his or her conduct) is inadmissible when offered to prove his or her conduct on a specified occasion. [] (b) Nothing in this section prohibits the admission of evidence that a person committed a crime, civil wrong, or other act when relevant to prove some fact (such as motive,
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