- Most of the time, courts are not allowed to consider evidence of past crimes. The reason for excluding the evidence is because we generally believe that a person should not be punished twice for the same crime.
- Rule 413 is an exception to the general rule. Rule 413 allows the prosecuting attorney to admit evidence of an accused person's past conviction of a sexual crime, if the current trial is for a similar crime.
- Rule 413 recognizes a widely held belief that people who commit sexual crimes are likely to commit similar crimes in the future. Therefore, the law allows an exception for these specific types of cases.
- To admit evidence under Rule 413, the prosecution must provide advanced notice to the accused. This notice gives the accused an opportunity to try and exclude the evidence.
- Rule 413 also operates as a deterrent to the commission of sex crimes by repeat offenders. Because a person who is a repeat offender is more likely to be found guilty the second time, because of the admission of the first conviction, this should deter at least some potential criminals from following through with a sex crime.
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