People v. Golochowicz

We address once again an area of the law of evidence with which the bench and bar appear to have continuing difficulty: the so-called similar-acts rule.1

Defendant was convicted by a jury on May 6, 1977, of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. The Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction in a published opinion,2 prompting the defendant to file a request for review.3 In response, by order dated November 2, 1979, this Court appointed counsel to prepare and file an application for leave to appeal.

The single issue meriting attention is whether the trial court erred in admitting…