People v. Cottone

Opinion

CORRIGAN, J.

Under Evidence Code section 1108, 1 in the trial of sexual offense charges, evidence the defendant committed another sexual offense may be admissible to prove that the defendant has a propensity to engage in such conduct. This case raises two questions.

First, if the proffered conduct occurred before the defendant had reached the age of 14, must the prosecution establish that the defendant knew the conduct was wrongful and was thus capable of committing a crime, as required by Penal Code section 26, paragraph One (Penal Code section 26(One))? We conclude such proof is…