What is the test for determining whether a defendant has a propensity to commit sexual acts?
California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Henson, E044519 (Cal. App. 2/19/2009), E044519 (Cal. App. 2009):
On appeal, the trial court's decision is reviewed for an abuse of discretion. (People v. Wesson (2006) 138 Cal.App.4th 959, 969.) A trial court abuses its discretion when its ruling "`falls outside the bounds of reason.'" (Ibid.) There was no abuse of discretion in the current case. The propensity evidence here was relevant to establish the defendant's propensity to commit the current offenses where his conduct in the prior incident and the conduct in the current chargesespecially the charge in count 13 involving A.W.were so similar the court described it as "virtually identical." In all the incidents, defendant sneaked into the girls' bedroom at night and committed sexual acts while the victim slept. The probative value in demonstrating defendant's propensity to commit such acts outweighs any prejudice that might flow from the remoteness of the prior incident.
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