Marles v. State

HARDBERGER, Justice.

This case decides the heretofore undecided question of whether the act of defecating in one’s pants upon being informed of a pending criminal charge is a relevant fact for the jury. It also decides whether a witness’s description of the event is of such damage to the defendant’s chance of a fair trial as to cause a reversal even when the trial judge sustains the objection and instructs the jury to disregard.

The state claims the act of defecating in one’s pants is an “excited utterance” and therefore is admissible as nonverbal conduct. The defendant says that the mere…