- Home
- Books and Journals
- Carolina Academic Press
- Understanding Evidence (CAP)
- Title
- Chapter 11 Other-acts Evidence
§ 11.10 DUE PROCESS
Jurisdiction | United States |
§ 11.10. DUE PROCESS
Several courts have indicated that the improper use of other-acts evidence may violate due process.85 In Estelle v. McGuire,86 the Supreme Court considered such a claim. McGuire was convicted of murdering his infant daughter. At trial, two physicians testified that the infant was a battered child, a finding based on prior injuries, some of which were discovered during the autopsy. McGuire argued that evidence of these prior injuries violated the rule prohibiting prior-crimes evidence. The Court disagreed, first noting that federal habeas was limited to a review of federal issues, typically federal constitutional issues, and does not extend to violations of state evidentiary rules.87 Consequently, admission of the evidence had to be judged on due process grounds. The Court found the evidence relevant and therefore did not have to determine whether the admission of irrelevant evidence violates due process.88
McGuire also challenged the instruction, arguing that it permitted the jury to use propensity evidence in violation of due process. The Court disagreed with this interpretation of the instruction, finding that it did not violate the propensity rule. Rather, it presented an issue similar to an instruction on other-acts evidence under Federal Rule 404(b) — i.e., evidence offered for some purpose other than character (propensity). The Court therefore had no reason to determine whether a propensity instruction would be unconstitutional.89
While unlikely in a routine case, the admissibility of other-acts evidence may violate due process in a particularly egregious case.
--------
Notes:
[85] See 2 Imwinkelried, Uncharged Misconduct Evidence ch. 10 (2013) (constitutional restrictions).
[86] 502 U.S. 62 (1991).
[87] Id. at 72 ("Nor do our habeas powers allow us to reverse McGuire's conviction based on a belief that the trial judge incorrectly interpreted the California Evidence Code in ruling that the prior injury evidence was admissible as bad acts evidence in this case."). See also Marshall v. Lonberger, 459 U.S. 422, 438 n.6 (1983) ("The Due Process Clause does not permit the federal courts to engage in a finely tuned review of the wisdom of state evidentiary rules.").
[88] 502 U.S. at 70 ("Concluding, as we do, that the prior injury evidence was relevant to an issue in the case, we need not explore further the apparent assumption of the Court of...
To continue reading
Request your trial- Title
- Chapter 11 Other-acts Evidence
- § 11.01 INTRODUCTION
- § 11.02 RULE 404(B) ANALYSIS
- § 11.03 DETERMINING "MATERIALITY" UNDER RULE 401
- § 11.04 DETERMINING ADMISSIBILITY UNDER RULE 403
- § 11.05 ACCUSED'S PARTICIPATION IN OTHER ACT: FRE 104(B)
- § 11.06 OTHER-ACTS EVIDENCE OFFERED BY THE ACCUSED
- § 11.07 ENTRAPMENT CASES
- § 11.08 NOTICE REQUIREMENT
- § 11.09 DOUBLE JEOPARDY AND COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL
- § 11.10 DUE PROCESS
- § 11.11 OTHER-ACTS EVIDENCE IN CIVIL CASES
- § 11.12 RELATED ISSUES
- § 11.13 KEY POINTS
Subscribers can access the reported version of this case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the cited cases and legislation of a document.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a list of all the documents that have cited the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the revised versions of legislation with amendments.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see any amendments made to the case.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see a visualisation of a case and its relationships to other cases. An alternative to lists of cases, the Precedent Map makes it easier to establish which ones may be of most relevance to your research and prioritise further reading. You also get a useful overview of how the case was received.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.
Subscribers are able to see the list of results connected to your document through the topics and citations Vincent found.
You can sign up for a trial and make the most of our service including these benefits.
Why Sign-up to vLex?
-
Over 100 Countries
Search over 120 million documents from over 100 countries including primary and secondary collections of legislation, case law, regulations, practical law, news, forms and contracts, books, journals, and more.
-
Thousands of Data Sources
Updated daily, vLex brings together legal information from over 750 publishing partners, providing access to over 2,500 legal and news sources from the world’s leading publishers.
-
Find What You Need, Quickly
Advanced A.I. technology developed exclusively by vLex editorially enriches legal information to make it accessible, with instant translation into 14 languages for enhanced discoverability and comparative research.
-
Over 2 million registered users
Founded over 20 years ago, vLex provides a first-class and comprehensive service for lawyers, law firms, government departments, and law schools around the world.