Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence prohibits the admission at trial of evidence of other crimes, wrongs or acts when offered to prove the “character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith” or a propensity to commit a crime. Such evidence is admissible for other purposes, however, including proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.
Anyone who tries criminal cases knows the devastating impact of Rule 404(b) evidence. In a close case, prosecutors frequently attempt to offer such evidence, and while jurors are presumed to follow the court’s limiting instructions, human nature suggests that the evidence will inevitably taint their perception of the defendant.
