NCJ Number
114250
Journal
University of Miami Law Review Volume: 42 Issue: 4-5 Dated: special issue (March-May 1988) Pages: 947-973
Date Published
1988
Length
27 pages
Annotation
Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence makes inadmissible most character evidence regarding crimes or acts for which no charges were filed, but this rule should not be used to eliminate evidence of criminal activity committed by the defendant at the same time as the crime charged, as a predicate to the crime charged, or as part of the context of the crime charged.
Abstract
The rule regarding character evidence is appropriate. However, the concerns that prompted its development are inapplicable when the uncharged misconduct evidence is inextricably intertwined with the crime charged. The defendant would not be unduly surprised or unprepared to meet this evidence. In addition, inextricably intertwined evidence is not likely to be as prejudicial as evidence of a wholly independent crime, because only one event is at issue. The risk that the jury would infer a propensity to criminality from just one event is negligible. In addition, in most cases, the defendant is charged with the most serious of the offenses, and the accompanying misconduct will appear small in comparison. Inextricably intertwined evidence should be subject to the same general admissibility requirements as other evidence that is used to provide the trier of fact with a complete picture of the crime in question.