507-536_KOCH (DO NOT DELETE)
11/8/2018 4:40 PM
REVERSING THE ODDS: CREATING UNIFORMITY WITH RULE 404(B) SEAN KOCH† I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................... 507 II. BACKGROUND ................................................................................ 511 A. The Purpose Behind Rule 404(b) ............................................ 511 B. Character Evidence in the United States ................................ 513 1. Molineux ........................................................................... 513 2. Codification ....................................................................... 514 C. Current Application ................................................................ 515 D. The Seventh Circuit’s New Approach ..................................... 518 E. Limitation of the Limitation Instruction................................... 521 III. ANALYSIS ....................................................................................... 522 A. Gomez Will Not Create Uniformity ........................................ 522 B. The Supreme Court Will Not Resolve the Issue ...................... 523 C. Amend the Federal Rules of Evidence .................................... 525 1. The Process to Amend the Federal Rules of Evidence ...... 525 2. An Amendment is a Necessary Solution ............................ 526 D. The Amended Rule 404(b)....................................................... 528 1. The Proposal in Comparison to Existing Rules ................ 530 2. The Effects of Amending Rule 404(b)................................ 533 IV. CONCLUSION .................................................................................. 535 I.
INTRODUCTION
The Federal Rules of Evidence (the Rules) prohibit the use of a person’s character traits from being admissible evidence to show that a person acted in accordance with that particular character or trait on a given occasion.1 However, the Rules do not merely create a ban on general character evidence.2 The Rules also restrict the admissibility of evidence that specifically pertains to prior crimes, wrongs, or other acts of a person.3 Rule † 1. 2. 3.
Need Author’s Note FED. R. EVID. 404(a)(1). See FED. R. EVID. 404(b)(2). FED. R. EVID. 404(b)(1).
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