People v. Rojas

Because evidence of a prior alleged crime was not probative of the charge for which the defendant was on trial, and because defendant was awaiting trial on that prior alleged crime, I dissent. The majority upholds the trial court’s summary ruling that defendant opened the door to testimony about that prior alleged stabbing. The majority concludes that the defense attorney misled the jury in her opening statement and the cross-examination of the People’s first witness and that to counter this misleading, the trial court properly permitted the People to bring out a prior stabbing of another…