Court Opinion

ID: 9489798
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 13:24:26.91709+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:53:43.298131
License: Public Domain

JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from Part IIB of the court’s opinion today.
I believe that the court errs in refusing to allow evidence tending to show that a third party was responsible for the arson. I articulated my reasons fully in my dissent in United States v. Flaherty, 76 F.3d 967, 974-75 (8th Cir.1996). In my view, the district court abused its discretion in rejecting the evidence under Rule 404(b), and did not base its reasoning on Rule 403. The exclusion of the evidence was prejudicial error.