Monds v. State

James Monds appeals his convictions of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and possession of marijuana. He contends that the court erred in allowing the prosecution to present testimony regarding a drug dealer’s illegal activity that occurred during the hours prior to Monds’s contact with the drug dealer, which led to the events ending in Monds’s arrest. Because the evidence did not become a feature of the trial and was necessary to establish that the officers were engaged in the lawful execution of their legal duty when they initially stopped Monds, we…