Defendant appealed from his conviction for aggravated domestic battery. On appeal, defendant argued that the trial court abused its discretion when it admitted proof of prior acts of domestic violence and that his trial counsel’s performance was unreasonable for not requiring a medical expert to testify that the victim’s wounds could have been caused by an accident and, finally, that no reasonable fact finder could have found the evidence sufficient to conclude that he caused great bodily harm. The appellate court affirmed, finding that defendant had failed to raise the issue regarding the prior convictions and, even if he had, the trial court used the proper balancing test and that the evidence did not support defendant’s arguments regarding the sufficiency of the evidence and performance of counsel. (HYMAN and C.A. WALKER, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Criminal Court
Domestic Battery