People v. Yazum

This appeal concerns the admissibility of evidence of flight in a criminal prosecution. Defendant’s conviction for robbery rested, in part, upon testimony that he attempted to escape from custody. After the jury returned its verdict of guilty, defense counsel moved to set aside the verdict on the ground that the evidence of flight was inadmissible because, at the time of the attempted escape, defendant was also detained under an Ohio warrant for parole violation. It was urged that, when a person is detained for two or more crimes, flight is not relevant to show guilt of either. The trial…