A146857

Court of Appeal reversed second degree murder conviction based on two trial court errors: 1) Evid Code section 352. Trial court abused its discretion by admitting evidence of an uncharged carjacking where the carjacking victim had not identified appellant and the carjacking had little to no probative value to issues at trial, but the evidence was extremely prejudicial as appellant was driving the car the next day which implicated him in the carjacking after the fact and suggested he was engaged in repeated, violent criminal activity.  2) Evid. Code section 1103. Trial court abused discretion by excluding all evidence of victim’s violent character, which gave a false aura of peaceableness. Also court lacked a basis for excluding some of the evidence where it did not hear proffered testimony. The evidence was prejudicial where there was enough uncertainty about [appellant’s] role in the shooting to heighten the importance of evidence that may have influenced the jury’s general perceptions of him.

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