![]() ![]() ![]() Evidence of other crimes, wrongs or acts is available for "non-character purposes," such as motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. However the prosecution may introduce character evidence for certain limited purposes after the defendant does so-after the defendant has "opened the door"-through the permissible methods and purposes explained below in "Character evidence offered by the defendant," to rebut what defendant tried showing through character evidence, and to "offer evidence of the defendant's same trait." įRE 404, in addition to dictating character evidence's permissible use in federal courts, also bars the prosecution's admission of "crimes, wrongs, or other acts" to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith (propensity). ![]() In the United States, character evidence is inadmissible in a criminal trial if first offered by the prosecution as circumstantial evidence to show that a defendant is likely to have committed the crime with which they are charged-the prosecution may not, in other words, initiate character evidence that shows defendant's propensity to commit a crime. Criminal trial Character evidence offered by the prosecution jurisdictions, however, permit defendants in assault and battery and fraudulent misconduct civil cases to introduce character evidence as circumstantial evidence to prove that a person acted in conformity with their character. Another way of looking at this is that character evidence is only admissible in a majority of jurisdictions in a civil trial if character is actually a substantive issue in the case ( negligent hiring negligent entrustment, child custody cases, loss of consortium cases), or to impeach a witness.Ī minority of U.S. jurisdictions, character evidence is inadmissible in civil suits when being used as circumstantial evidence to prove that a person acted in conformity with their character it is considered to be an unfair basis from which to attempt to prove that an individual behaved in a particular way on a particular occasion. as evidence of specific instances of conduct.If used as circumstantial evidence, FRE 404(a)(1) renders inadmissible character evidence offered to prove that an individual acted "in accordance with" a character or trait "on a particular occasion." It lists several exceptions which apply depending on whether the proceeding is civil or criminal, whether the defense or prosecution is offering the character evidence, and what purpose it is being offered for.Ĭharacter evidence may be offered, depending on the type of proceeding, party offering, and purported purpose, explained below, in three forms: impeach or strengthen the credibility of a witnessĬharacter may be a substantive issue in defamation suits, in lawsuits alleging negligent hiring or negligent entrustment, in child custody cases, as well as in loss of consortium cases character evidence is thus admissible to prove the substantive issues that arise in these types of lawsuits. ![]() prove, through circumstantial evidence, an aspect of an individual's conductĬharacter evidence's admissibility as circumstantial evidence is influenced by the case's civil or criminal natureģ. prove character, if character is a substantive issue in the litigationĪdmissibility of character evidence to prove character is not affected by the case's civil or criminal natureĢ. In the United States, character evidence may be offered at trial to:ġ. the type of proceeding ( civil or criminal) in which the character evidence is offered.the form in which the character evidence is offered.the purpose the character evidence is being used for.Three factors typically determine the admissibility of character evidence: In the United States, Federal Rule of Evidence 404 maps out its permissible and prohibited uses in trials. ( October 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Ĭharacter evidence is a term used in the law of evidence to describe any testimony or document submitted for the purpose of proving that a person acted in a particular way on a particular occasion based on the character or disposition of that person. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. ![]()
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