Opinion ID: 522285
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Accident or Mistake

Text: 18 The Government argues that the bad act evidence should be admitted, if not to show motive, at least to rebut the defenses of accident or mistake. The record reveals that the defense raised the issue of accident or mistake in the context of a defense of imperfect self-defense. 4 The defense argued that Brown concluded, albeit unreasonably, that the person who approached his parents' home was not a postal carrier, but the man who three weeks previously had shot Brown. Thus, the defense sought to deny that Brown possessed the intent to commit murder. See United States v. Skinner, 667 F.2d 1306, 1310 (9th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 463 U.S. 1229, 103 S.Ct. 3569, 77 L.Ed.2d 1410 (1983) (although theory not yet applied in jurisdiction,  'imperfect self-defense' theory could reduce an intentional killing ... from murder to voluntary manslaughter). 19 As with motive, evidence of Brown's prior bad acts to show lack of accident or mistake is inadmissible unless relevant to an element which is a material issue in the case. The material issue here is whether Brown had the required intent to commit first degree murder. We are unable to agree with the district court that evidence of Brown's prior bad acts is relevant to rebut the defense of accident or mistake as raised by the defense. Brown's efforts to recover his property at gunpoint and his shooting into Ms. Duke's home do not tend to show that it was unlikely that Brown could have mistaken the postal carrier for his recent assailant. 20 For the reasons stated above, we believe that the evidence of Brown's prior bad acts was not relevant to establish motive, or lack of accident or mistake, and cannot therefore be used to establish any element of the charged offense as to which there was a material issue in the case. If the evidence was relevant, its relevance was so marginal as to be more than substantially outweighed by prejudice against Brown. See Fed.R.Evid. 403; see also Sarault, 840 F.2d at 1485. The trial court abused its discretion in admitting the prior bad acts into evidence.