State v. Abbitt and Albarran

Summary

The Court affirmed the exclusion of defendants’ evidence suggesting that Ashley Phillips and Tim Tim McCain committed the charged crimes. Although the evidence directly implicated specific alternative suspects and was therefore relevant, it did not also tend to exculpate defendants by showing that they, rather than Phillips and McCain, committed the offenses. The Court therefore held that the evidence was inadmissible under the governing relevancy standard and that its exclusion was not prejudicial error.