This week on Legally Us, Rachael Bennett, certified family law specialist and senior attorney for Sullivan Law & Associates, breaks down whether a judge will allow any talk of the domestic violence incident involving Chris Brown’s ex-girlfriend Rihanna, which led to his arrest, at an upcoming trial.
On January 16, Brown, 36, filed court docs arguing there should be no mention of Rihanna, 37, in front of the jury as part of the lawsuit brought by sisters, Patricia and Maria Avila, who worked as housekeepers at Brown’s L.A. home.
Maria alleged in 2020 that she was attacked by a large dog at Brown’s house, claiming the singer prioritized removing the animal over her well-being. Brown has denied the allegations.
“He does actually have a very valid point here. The details of his prior domestic violence conviction would fall under the category of character evidence. In civil trials like this, evidence of somebody’s character, if it’s offered to prove that their conduct was a certain way back then, therefore their conduct would be a certain way now, is not considered admissible evidence,” Bennett exclusively tells Luxury Handbag Shopping. “And really the purpose here, if they’re trying to introduce it for character evidence purposes, would be to say, ‘He was a violent and abusive person back in 2008, so therefore he is a violent and abusive person in the context of when this dog bite occurred.’”
Maria is seeking upwards of $90 million for alleged permanent injuries and disfigurement, and the case is expected to go to trial this year after settlement efforts failed.
In a recent filing, Brown’s attorney requested an order preventing Maria, her counsel and witnesses from referencing alleged past domestic violence incidents involving Brown and Rihanna.
His legal team said they expect Maria’s lawyer to attempt to raise those allegations during the proceedings.
“Because it was a felony conviction, there is a rule in California that allows the plaintiff’s attorney to pull that information in if the defendant in the case chooses to testify,” Bennett explained. “If Chris Brown decides that he’s going to testify on his own behalf in this case, during the cross examination portion of his testimony, he can be asked about his prior conviction, and the jury can consider whether the prior conviction for domestic violence impacts the credibility of his testimony, whether he’s being truthful and honest.”
She adds, “His attorney is clearly going to argue to exclude all evidence of that based on the length of time that’s passed and how prejudicial it would be for this case, but there is a very, very small loophole where it could come in here. In my opinion, I think it’s probably going to be excluded since it is something that happened 18 years ago and not necessarily related to the issues of this case.”
Brown was arrested on February 8, 2009, after an argument with Rihanna turned physical inside a car. He pleaded guilty to a felony count in June 2009 and was sentenced to five years of probation, community labor and counseling.
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