State v. Hutton

The victim, defendant’s former girlfriend, reported to police that defendant hit her in the mouth and burned her with a cigarette during an argument in a trailer. Defendant was then charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault and two counts of harassment. Before trial, the state sought a ruling on the admissibility of evidence that defendant had given the victim a “fat lip” during a previous argument in the trailer. Over defendant’s objection, the court ruled that the victim could testily about that prior assault, which she did, and defendant was convicted of fourth-degree assault and…