Mathews v. State

By the Court, HARDESTY, J.:

Appellant Donovine Mathews' conviction stems from an incident involving his girlfriend's two-year-old son, C.J., who incurred burns on his hands while Mathews was babysitting him and his sibling. From the time of the incident, Mathews has maintained that the burns happened accidentally, while the State has argued that Mathews intentionally burned C.J. We are asked to determine whether the district court abused its discretion in excluding Mathews' expert witness and in rejecting his proffered jury instruction. To answer these questions, we must determine, as an issue…