Case Explained: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. DAVID JEREMY ZOBEL

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit

Filed: 2026-07-17

The D.C. Circuit held that it has jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3731 to review the district court’s interlocutory order excluding evidence of the defendant’s prior child molestation conviction and vacated that exclusion. The court determined the government’s appeal was timely because the district court’s initial September 2023 ruling on the admissibility of a plea-proffer summary was conditional, pending whether the defense would contest identity, and only became final when the court confirmed its intent to exclude all prior-conviction evidence in February 2025 after the defense indicated it would assert an identity defense. On the merits, the court found that the district court abused its discretion by applying an erroneous legal standard under Federal Rule of Evidence 403. The district court excluded the evidence because it believed the risk of unfair prejudice substantially outweighed the probative value, specifically relying on the concern that a jury might make a “propensity inference” from the prior conviction. The appellate court clarified that while Rule 403 balancing remains applicable to evidence offered under Federal Rule of Evidence 414, Rule 414 creates a statutory exception to the general ban on propensity evidence in child molestation cases found in Rule 404(b). Consequently, the possibility that a jury will draw a propensity inference from prior acts of child molestation cannot be treated as categorically “unfair” prejudice under Rule 403. The district court erred by weighing the probative value against a risk that Congress has deemed permissible for the jury to consider. The practical consequence is that the case is remanded to the district court for a fresh determination of the admissibility of the evidence relating to Zobel’s prior conviction. On remand, the district court must re-evaluate the evidence under the correct legal framework, giving due weight to its probative value regarding identity and intent, and assessing any remaining unfair prejudice risks (such as the jury convicting based on retribution rather than guilt) without treating the propensity inference itself as per se unfairly prejudicial.

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