People v. Merchant

Jecarr Merchant (defendant) was driving on a highway when his girlfriend, Lisa R., asked him to stop and drop her off. Merchant refused. He started speeding and swerving. Lisa called the police, saying that Merchant was kidnapping her. As Lisa spoke, Merchant grabbed her by the hair. After the call dropped, Lisa tried to call back, but Merchant grabbed the phone and threw it out the window. Police eventually caught up with Merchant, and he was charged with kidnapping, battery, and dissuading a witness. While awaiting trial, Merchant called Lisa 167 times from jail. Although he never directly threatened Lisa’s safety, he repeatedly and insistently encouraged her to lay low. Merchant told her that if she was unavailable for court then the charges against him would be dropped, whereas if she came to court Merchant’s life would be over. Merchant also told Lisa that he had friends who would be watching her. On the calls, Lisa repeatedly reassured Merchant that she would not come to court. And at trial, almost 16 months later, the parties stipulated that Lisa was unavailable to testify. The trial court granted the prosecution’s request to admit into evidence Lisa’s statements to officers on the day of the incident, finding that the forfeiture-by-wrongdoing exception to the Confrontation Clause applied. The trial court also partially granted a request to admit evidence of prior acts of violence against Lisa and a former girlfriend to show Merchant’s propensity for domestic violence plus intent and common plan. The jury convicted Merchant, and he appealed, challenging the trial court’s evidentiary rulings.