Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2009
Publication Information
35 William Mitchell Law Review 1372 (2009)
Abstract
This article first examines how Minnesota’s character evidence doctrine developed, with a particular focus on the historical confusion regarding the propriety of the propensity inference. It then examines current case law and argues that Minnesota’s current Spreigl doctrine routinely allows propensity evidence. It finally proposes a choice between abandoning the current Spreigl doctrine and repealing the character rule itself. The author takes no position on which alternative should be chosen, but either is better than the status quo. The current doctrine in Minnesota is a Potemkin village.
Repository Citation
Sampsell-Jones, Ted, "Spreigl Evidence: Still Searching for a Principled Rule" (2009). Faculty Scholarship. 23.
https://open.mitchellhamline.edu/facsch/23