People v. Villatoro

In People v. Villatoro (2012) 54 Cal.4th 1152, the court noted that Evidence Code section 1108 permits juries to use "'evidence of the defendant's commission of another sexual offense or offenses'" as propensity evidence, and held that "this definition of 'another' contains no limitation, temporal or otherwise, to suggest that Evidence Code section 1108 covers only offenses other than those for which the defendant is currently on trial." (Villatoro, supra, at pp. 1160-1161.) The instruction in the Villatoro case reads as follows: "'The People presented evidence that the defendant committed the crime of rape as alleged in counts 2, 4, 7, 9, 12 and 15 and the crime of sodomy as alleged in count 14. These crimes are defined for you in the instructions for these crimes. If you decide that the defendant committed one of these charged offenses, you may, but are not required to, conclude from that evidence that the defendant was disposed or inclined to commit the other charged crimes of rape or sodomy, and based on that decision also conclude that the defendant was likely to and did commit the other offenses of rape and sodomy charged. If you conclude that the defendant committed a charged offense, that conclusion is only one factor to consider along with all the other evidence. It is not sufficient by itself to prove the defendant is guilty of another charged offense. The People must still prove each element of every charge beyond a reasonable doubt and prove it beyond a reasonable doubt before you may consider one charge as proof of another charge.'" (Villatoro, supra, 54 Cal.4th at p. 1167.)