re: Gasser didn't testify in McKnight case; Guilty of manslaughter

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Why only past domestic situations? You're saying if a guy gets arrested (and charged) for beating up his 4 different male non-related nor in any sort of relationship neighbors and then does the same to a 5th neighbor but ends up killing him, you can't bring up the prior violent charges?

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That situation would almost certainly fall in one of the exceptions that allow prior bad acts evidence in.

Under federal rules the exceptions are that the prior bad acts can be used to show: motive, opportunity, intent, plan, knowledge, identity, absence of mistake or accident. It can't be used to show that the person probably acted the same this time as he did last time.