Propensity evidence — hostile relationship between complainant and defendant — text message evidence — disclosure — Mahomed v R [2011] NZSC 52, [2011] 3 NZLR 145 — Perkins v R [2011] NZCA 665 — Lawson v R [2012] NZCA 540 — Evidence Act 2006, ss 40 & 43. The defendant faced charges arising from an incident where he was alleged to have fought with the complainant and injured him with a knife. The Crown, seeking to show that the defendant held a grudge against the complainant, sought to introduce as evidence a series of text messages that the defendant sent to the complainant prior to the alleged incident. The messages contained abuse and threats, and the Crown argued that they qualified as propensity evidence. The Court was dubious as to whether the texts showed a propensity to assault the complainant with a knife, but agreed that they showed that the defendant was hostile to the complainant. Therefore they would help to explain the complainant's version of events and to make them comprehensible to a jury. The Court found that the texts were admissible as propensity evidence. The defendant also expressed concern that he had not been told in time that one of the witnesses intended to amend her statement to the police. The Court directed the Crown to provide an assurance that all disclosure requirements had now been met. Judgment Date: 21 September 2018. * * Note: names have been changed to comply with legal requirements. * * *