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Full-Text Articles in Law
The (Mis)Application Of Rule 404(B) Heuristics, Dora W. Klein
The (Mis)Application Of Rule 404(B) Heuristics, Dora W. Klein
Faculty Articles
In all of the federal circuit courts of appeals, application of Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence has been distorted by judicially-created "tests" that, while intended to assist trial courts in properly admitting or excluding evidence, do not actually test for the kind of evidence prohibited by this rule. Rule 404(b) prohibits evidence of "crimes, wrongs, or other acts" if the purpose for admitting the evidence is to prove action in accordance with a character trait. This evidence is commonly referred to as "propensity" evidence, or "once a drug dealer, always a drug dealer" evidence.
This Article examines …
Exemplary And Exceptional Confusion Under The Federal Rules Of Evidence, Dora W. Klein
Exemplary And Exceptional Confusion Under The Federal Rules Of Evidence, Dora W. Klein
Faculty Articles
This Article proposes that the final provisions of Rule 407 and 411, which provide a list of examples of permitted purposes for which a court may admit evidence, are asking for trouble--specifically, the trouble that courts will interpret the list not as examples, but as a specially enumerated, exhaustive list of exceptions.