D082640
Cal. Ct. App.Jun 16, 2025Background
- Milton Arturo Santiago was convicted by a jury of four counts of committing lewd acts against a 13-year-old girl, for which he received an eight-year prison sentence.
- The underlying incident occurred in September 2018; the victim was the daughter of Santiago’s on-again, off-again partner and mother of his son.
- The victim’s mother, acting at the direction of law enforcement, made a recorded telephone call to Santiago to elicit an admission; two specific statements from this call became points of evidentiary contention.
- Santiago challenged the admission of: (1) his own statement threatening suicide, and (2) the mother’s statement vouching for the victim’s credibility.
- The trial court allowed both statements to be heard by the jury, giving a limiting instruction regarding the mother’s statement about the victim’s veracity.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Admission of suicide threat statement | Statement is relevant to Santiago's reaction and state of mind | Minimal probative value; risked unfair prejudice/confusion of jury | Properly admitted; probative value outweighed prejudice |
| Admission of mother's vouching for victim's truth | Showed Santiago’s response; relevant to context of conversation | Highly prejudicial; little probative value and limiting instruction ineffective | Properly admitted with limiting instruction |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Tran, 51 Cal.4th 1040 (balancing probative value and prejudice under Evidence Code section 352)
- People v. Miles, 9 Cal.5th 513 (definition of prejudice under Evid. Code section 352)
- People v. Clark, 63 Cal.4th 522 (discretion standard for evidentiary rulings)
- People v. Chhoun, 11 Cal.5th 1 (abuse of discretion review for evidentiary decisions)
- People v. Dykes, 46 Cal.4th 731 (requirement to preserve evidentiary objections for appeal)