United States v. Frank
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
11 F.Supp.2d 341 (S.D.N.Y. 1998)
Relevant factsFree
Deric Frank (defendant), an alleged drug dealer, was charged with murdering his former girlfriend, Shaneika Price. The prosecution's theory was that Frank killed Price because he believed she was cooperating with police about his drug dealing, following a history of domestic abuse. To support that theory, the prosecution sought to introduce evidence of Frank's drug dealing and his past abuse of Price, which Frank opposed as improper character evidence.
IssueFree
Whether evidence of a defendant's prior bad acts is admissible when introduced to show motive or to complete the story of the charged crime, rather than to show the defendant's character.