Relevancy - Character Evidence

  1. 3 ways to prove character evidence
    • ROS
    • Reputation, opinion, specific acts
  2. Evidence of good character is not allowed in ___ cases.
    civil
  3. Character evidence can only be brought into civil cases where character is
    an essential element of the claim or defense
  4. Character ADMISSIBLE in CIVIL Cases when at issue:
    • Defamation
    • Child Custody
    • Negligent Hiring
    • Negligent entrustment
    • Misrepresentation/Fraud
  5. character evidence is still not admissible in normal civil cases like ones for ____ and _____
    assault and battery
  6. Character is admissible in criminal cases when?
    the Defendant opens the door
  7. In criminal cases, the prosecution cannot be the first side to bring up character evidence in a criminal case... unless
    we are talking about rape, sexual assault, and child molestation cases.
  8. When a defendant open the for character evidence in a criminal case, they can only use ___ or ___ to show good character
    reputation or opinion
  9. Civil cases we can only bring in character evidence when it is ___ to the claim or defense.
    essential
  10. In a battery case (violent cases) honesty is
    not a relevant character trait.
  11. When a Defendant opens the door through reputation or opinion testimony prosecution can respond by:
    • 1. prosecution can respond with their own reputation or opinion witness 
    • 2. to ask the character witnesses about specific bad acts related to the defendant
  12. Evidence of the victim's character can be introduced in
    self-defense situations.
  13. If the defendant claiming self defense against the Plaintiff and brings evidence to show the victim/Plaintiff was the aggressor, the prosecution can challenge this reputation or opinion in two ways by showing:
    • 1. The victim's good character; OR
    • 2. The defendant's bad character for the same trait (basically saying the defendant has a reputation for being violent THEMSELVES)
  14. In homicide cases if the defendant offers ANY evidence that the victim was the first aggressor, the prosecution can offer evidence
    of the victim's good character for peacefulness
Author
dwrght16
ID
364172
Card Set
Relevancy - Character Evidence
Description
Relevancy - character evidence
Updated