BLOG BULLETS: While older Ninth Circuit case law held an offer to stipulate to a fact precluded the government from introducing Rule 404(b) evidence on the fact, later case law held that a stipulation can never prevent the government from introducing Rule 404(b) evidence to prove an element of the offense. The Supreme Court’s later […]

BLOG BULLETS: Prosecutors often offer evidence with damaging hearsay content on a theory that it’s not offered for the truth but just to show why the agent did what he did. The evidence shouldn’t be admitted for this purpose because why the agent did what he did generally isn’t relevant. You can rely on two […]

BLOG BULLETS: With limited exceptions, a prior inconsistent statement is admissible only for impeachment, which means only to cancel out the adverse answer being impeached. It follows from this that a party can’t impeach a witness with a prior inconsistent statement if he knew the witness would give the adverse answer and the primary reason […]

BLOG BULLETS: Rule 801(d)(2) of the Federal Rules of Evidence on admissions of a party-opponent can be used to introduce statements by government prosecutors and agents. Other limiting rules of evidence, like rules limiting opinion evidence and the rule excluding hearsay, don’t apply, so statements made by prosecutors in closing argument and statements made by […]