Tuesday, August 29, 2023

For Tuesday

Tuesday audio. No class Monday; enjoy the long weekend.

Continue with Conditional Relevancy, which will double back onto 404(b). How do FRE 104(a) and (b) map onto the two questions in the FRE 404(b)(2) analysis as described in Bell?

Move to Habit and Routine Practice. What is habit and how does it differ from character, other acts, and routine practice?

Some final points on Identity under FRE 404(b)(2). The identity arguments for the shooting and barroom fights are not strong, although it was important to see and make the arguments. But identity requires real similarities in the details and manner of the action--something allowing the inference (beyond character) that the same person committed the evidential and charged acts. So this can be used for serial killers who follow a particular MO in the crimes--in choice of victim, location, manner of performing the acts, etc. The act has a "calling card" or "signature" or "fingerprint," linked to that person.

One example might be Ted Kaczynsky, the "Unabomber," who sent homemade bombs through the mail to people at universities, airlines, and other technology-related industries.Another is "Son of Sam," David Berkowitz, who used a .44 caliber handgun to kill women with long, dark waivy hair, usually by finding them in parked cars with their boyfriends.

Or to use pop culture, this scene from Home Alone.