State v. Jeffrey Lynn Alwin, 44553

Late-night traffic stop: Officer stopped a speeding Montana-plated car at ~1:30 a.m.; the driver briefly interacted but then fled, reaching ~120 mph, and eluded police.
Officer identified the driver post-chase using a photograph located via dispatch records; the photograph was a jail booking photo showing the defendant wearing jail clothing but lacked placards or ID numbers.
Defendant (Alwin) was charged with felony eluding (Idaho Code § 49-1404(2)) and put forward an alibi and an identification expert at trial.
At trial the State sought to admit the booking photograph for identification; Alwin objected under I.R.E. 404(b). The court admitted the photo after concluding it did not show prior “conduct,” but the court had not closely inspected the photo and was unaware it was a booking photo.
Jury convicted Alwin; he moved for a new trial arguing the booking photo admission was error. The district court denied the motion; Alwin appealed.
On appeal the Court of Appeals held the district court abused its discretion by failing to apply Rule 404(b) standards to the booking photograph, found the error not harmless, vacated the conviction, and remanded. The court did not resolve a separate prosecutorial-misconduct claim, noting the prosecutor’s closing was at least improper.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of booking photograph under I.R.E. 404(b)	Photo not offered as "other acts"; no Rule 404(b) issue—photo used for identification	Booking photo is evidence of prior bad acts/“criminal” status and is impermissible propensity evidence under Rule 404(b)	Court abused discretion by admitting the booking photo without applying 404(b); error not harmless; conviction vacated and remanded
Prosecutorial misconduct in closing argument	Prosecutor argued officer credibility and attacked defense theory/expert (State defended conduct)	Alwin argued statements rose to fundamental error	Court declined to decide due to dispositive photo error; noted prosecutor's arguments were at best improper

State v. Grist, 147 Idaho 49 (2009) (framework for admissibility and 404(b) analysis)
State v. Pepcorn, 152 Idaho 678 (2012) (other-acts evidence may be admissible for non-propensity purposes)
State v. Zimmerman, 121 Idaho 971 (1992) (trial court evidentiary rulings reviewed for abuse of discretion)
United States v. Fosher, 568 F.2d 207 (1st Cir. 1978) (booking photos can unfairly prejudice juries; admissible only if not identifiable as booking photos)