Opinion ID: 549496
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Ridley's Testimony Concerning Appellant's Prior Bad Acts

Text: 30 Appellant Hunter contends that the district court erred by permitting Ridley to testify about Hunter's previous narcotics trafficking. Appellant Brooks likewise challenges this testimony asserting that it served to reinforce for the jury the likelihood that a conspiracy existed. 31 Ridley testified that he met Brooks and Hunter at a house in Summerville, Georgia, two years prior to the events in question. Ridley further testified that he observed both of the Appellants use cocaine and discuss the sale of cocaine. At trial, the Appellants objected to this testimony. The court excused the jury and listened to the testimony, ruling it admissible. 32 Rule 404(b) of the Federal Rules of Evidence permits the admission of evidence of prior bad acts, not to prove conduct in conformity therewith, but to show proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity or absence of mistake or accident. Fed.R.Evid. 404(b). The rule is one of inclusion rather than exclusion, and is neither exhaustive nor conclusive. See U.S. v. Acosta-Cazares, 878 F.2d 945 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 110 S.Ct. 255 (1989). Moreover, the abuse of discretion standard governs these rulings. Id. 33 Here, the government did not offer the evidence to show the Appellants' criminal propensities, but rather to demonstrate the context of the case and the relationship of the parties. Surely the Appellants must have known Ridley to openly discuss the sale of four kilograms of cocaine. Moreover, the evidence is also relevant to the Appellants' asserted defense that they were working undercover and is likewise probative of the element of intent. We find no abuse of discretion in the district court's ruling.