United States v. Berry

I agree that the military judge abused his discretion by conducting a flawed analysis under Military Rule of Evidence (M.R.E.) 403, and would reverse on that ground. However, I cannot join in the majority’s reasoning because the judge also abused his discretion by determining evidence of Appellant’s childhood act to be logically relevant under M.R.E. 401.

To be legally relevant, evidence must first be logically relevant. If Appellant’s childhood sexual act is not legally relevant to show his propensity to commit similar acts as an adult because “there is no evidence suggesting that Berry’s…