State v. Taylor

In State v. Taylor, 169 Ariz. 121, 124, 817 P.2d 488, 491 (1991), the defendant sought to introduce the victim's prior conviction for child abuse both to show the propensity of the victim for violence and the defendant's state of mind believing the victim to be violent. 169 Ariz. at 124, 817 P.2d at 491. The court first held that to show the defendant was justifiably afraid of the decedent, he had to know that the decedent had a violent disposition and found the conviction was admissible, apparently because the defendant knew of that conviction. Id. at 124, 817 P.2d at 491. The court then went on to discuss Rule 404(b) and noted that the evidence would also be admissible under that rule because it was relevant to defendant's state of mind. Id. at 124-25, 817 P.2d at 491-92.