Webster v. Boyett

Fletcher, Presiding Justice.

We granted the writ of certiorari to determine whether evidence of a defendant’s similar acts or omissions is relevant in determining liability for punitive damages and, if so, the proper procedure to be followed in handling the admission of the evidence. We hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion when it prohibited evidence of a prior conviction during the liability phase of a bifurcated trial or when it refused to separate the issue of liability for punitive damages from the issue of compensatory damages. Because the court of appeals found both…