Opinion ID: 2737154
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Existence of a Material Issue

Text: The first criterion under Rule 404(b) is whether “a material issue exists other than conduct conforming with a character trait.” Tenn. R. Evid. 404(b)(2). “[E]vidence that the defendant committed another crime is admissible only if the ground for relevance”—in this instance, the identity of the perpetrator—“is actually being contested in the case on trial.” Bunch, 605 S.W.2d at 230. If a defendant’s identity is conclusively established by other proof at trial, then identity is no longer at issue and the evidence of the other crime should not be admitted. White v. State, 533 S.W.2d 735, 739 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1975) (quoting Warren v. State, 156 S.W.2d 416, 418 (Tenn. 1941)). Here, the trial court waited until it had heard the majority of the evidence pertaining to the investigation of the James murders before ruling that identity was a material issue because the Defendant had “vigorously challenged” Young’s testimony that the Defendant committed the murders and had raised the issue of other “possible suspects.” The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed this determination. Jones, 2013 WL 1697611, at . The Defendant concedes that identity was a material issue at trial. We agree. By challenging the proof that he murdered Mr. and Mrs. James and by attempting to shift the blame to others, most notably Young, the Defendant placed identity at issue. Moreover, the evidence did not establish the Defendant’s identity so conclusively as to eliminate the issue as a jury question. -27- See White, 533 S.W.2d at 739.