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Case 1:20-cr-00330-PAE Document 452 Filed 11/12/21 Page 41 of 84
Government’s notice is remediated by this brief. This is ample notice of the possible Rule 404(b)
evidence in this case. Indeed, the Rule only requires that the defense receive notice “before trial,”
or even “during trial . . . for good cause.” Fed. R. Evid. 404(b)(3)(C).
The defense claims, without supporting authority, that Rule 404(b) requires heightened
notice that cannot be satisfied here without, essentially, a script of all of the proposed testimony at
trial accompanied by detailed expositions of the Government’s case-in-chief. (Def. Mot. 2 at 4-
5). But the Government has provided the defense with marked exhibits and comprehensive Jencks
Act materials of the single witness subject to this motion (approximately 400 pages) “unusually
early” (Endorsed Letter at 3, Dkt. No. 353), along with a letter specifically highlighting the
proffered evidence at trial. That is all that is required, and the defendant cannot leverage the notice
requirements of Rule 404(b) to preclude this evidence at trial. Indeed, the “Second Circuit
generally disfavors the exclusion of otherwise relevant evidence on technical grounds.” Hart v.
BHH, LLC, No. 15 Civ. 4804 (WHP), 2019 WL 1494027, at *3 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 4, 2019) (citing
Rodriguez v. Vill. Green Realty, Inc., 788 F.3d 31, 47 (2d Cir. 2015)). Accordingly, the only judge
in this District to consider a similar situation concluded that the Government’s Rule 404(b) notice
was sufficient in combination with the Government’s motion papers. See United States v.
Chandler, No. 19 Cr. 867 (PKC), 2021 WL 1851996, at *2 n.2 (S.D.N.Y. May 10, 2021).
The defense vaguely asserts that it cannot perform an independent investigation into the
Rule 404(b) evidence due to the inadequacy of the Government’s notice. (Def. Mot. 2 at 5-6).
That conclusory assertion cannot support a motion to preclude the jury from hearing evidence of
the defendant’s guilt. The defense has not identified any specific way that they have been hampered
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Document Details
| Filename | DOJ-OGR-00006749.jpg |
| File Size | 704.5 KB |
| OCR Confidence | 93.6% |
| Has Readable Text | Yes |
| Text Length | 2,066 characters |
| Indexed | 2026-02-03 17:14:01.387208 |