United States of America v. James Pettway

Mobile, Alabama criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with knowing possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).



The Court of Appeals was unpersuaded by Pettway's claim that the district court abused its discretion in admitting at trial evidence of an alleged attempted robbery. In general, we recognize three tiers of admissible evidence. For starters, "[r]elevant direct evidence of a crime charged is always admissible unless it falls under a rule of exclusion.” Troya, 733 F.3d at 1131. Second, evidence is admissible USCA11 Case: 24-104224 Opinion of the Court 24-10422 as "intrinsic” to the crime itself if it arose from the same transaction or series of transactions as the charged crime, it completes the story

of the crime, or it is intertwined with evidence of the charged crime. Id. Third, "extrinsic” evidence may be admissible -- pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) -- if it is relevant to an issue other than character and if the jury reasonably may conclude that the defendant committed the act at issue.

Affirmed