Pretrial — admissibility of evidence — propensity evidence — Evidence Act 2006 ss 40, 41, 42, 43 — Hetherington v R [2012] NZCA 88. The defendant was on trial for 16 charges arising out of two events, including kidnapping, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, male assaults female and threatening to kill. The victim of this offending was the defendant's partner. The prosecution sought to introduce the defendant's previous conviction for male assaults female, the victim of which was also his partner at the time. The defense opposed the application, submitting that the previous conviction did not establish a pattern and was unfairly prejudicial. The Court accepted that the previous conviction qualified as propensity evidence, but decided that if the evidence was admitted it would have an unfairly prejudicial effect against the defendant. The application was refused and the evidence was ruled inadmissible. Judgment Date: 1 June 2023