People v. Santiago
Supreme Court of New York County
2003 WL 21507176
Victor Santiago (defendant), who had a long history of violence against his partner Angela and prior violations of protective orders, was charged with violating another protective order. After his arrest, Santiago pressured Angela to help get him out of prison; she told prosecutors she no longer wished to press charges and would claim police fabricated her earlier statements if the case continued. The prosecution sought to introduce her grand jury testimony and other out-of-court statements, arguing Santiago's long pattern of abuse had made her an unavailable witness.
Whether a domestic violence victim's prior out-of-court statements are admissible at trial where the defendant's abusive conduct, occurring both before and after his arrest, caused the victim's unavailability to testify.