## Facts

- The defendant was tried in Nevada for a charged offense.
- The prosecution introduced evidence describing the defendant’s involvement in other criminal acts not charged in the case.
- The other-acts evidence was offered in a manner that tended to portray the defendant as a person likely to commit crimes, rather than to prove a disputed, case-specific issue.
- The defendant objected that the evidence was irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial.
- The trial court admitted the evidence, and the defendant was convicted.

## Issues

1. Under what circumstances may the prosecution introduce evidence of a defendant’s other crimes or bad acts at trial.
2. Whether admitting other-acts evidence primarily to show a defendant’s propensity to commit crime constitutes reversible error.

## Decision

- The Nevada Supreme Court reversed the conviction.
- The court held that the other-acts evidence was improperly admitted because it functioned chiefly as propensity evidence rather than proof of a permissible, material issue in the case.
- The court concluded the error required a new trial.

## Legal Principles

- Evidence that a defendant committed other crimes or bad acts is generally inadmissible when offered to prove the defendant’s criminal disposition or propensity.
- Other-acts evidence may be admissible only if it is relevant to a legitimate, material issue beyond propensity (such as intent, identity, motive, absence of mistake, common plan, or similar non-character purposes) and its probative value is not substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.
- When other-acts evidence has minimal legitimate relevance and a substantial risk of inflaming the jury or inviting a propensity inference, admitting it is reversible error.

## Conclusion

The court reversed because the prosecution’s use of uncharged other-crimes evidence invited the jury to convict based on character and propensity rather than proof of the charged offense, requiring a new trial under Nevada’s limits on other-acts evidence.


Tucker v. State, 82 Nev. 127, 412 P.2d 970 (Nev. 1966)