Decker v. State

During the trial of Petitioner Charles Henry Decker, the court admitted evidence that on a pi*eviously scheduled trial date Petitioner left the courthouse before trial commenced. The State offered the evidence to show that Petitioner fled from prosecution, thereby reflecting his consciousness of guilt of the charged crimes. Petitioner challenges the admission of the evidence, arguing that it was too ambiguous and equivocal to be indicative of consciousness of guilt, and, even if marginally probative, its relevance was outweighed by unfair prejudice to him. For the reasons that follow, we hold…