Washington's Expansion of the "Plan" Exception after State v. Lough

Authors

Jeannie Mayre Mar

Abstract

In State v. Lough, the Washington Supreme Court ignored strong case law limiting the admission of an accused's prior misconduct under the plan exception to evidence rule 404(b) and upheld the admission of unproved wrongs against the accused. The plan exception to Washington Rule of Evidence 404(b) prohibits using misconduct evidence to show propensity, but admits such evidence if used to establish a defendant's overall design or plan to commit the charged offense. This Note analyzes the Washington Supreme Court decision to uphold admission of a defendant's uncharged misconduct under the plan exception. Moreover, this Note argues that the court improperly broadened the plan exception and should not have applied the exception because the evidence's prejudicial impact outweighed its probative value.

First Page

845

Recommended Citation

Jeannie M. Mar, Notes and Comments, Washington's Expansion of the "Plan" Exception after State v. Lough, 71 Wash. L. Rev. 845 (1996).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wlr/vol71/iss3/8