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Legal Terms - character (in the evidentiary law)
1. The standing of a witness or participant. Both civil and criminal trials allow for the presentation of evidence on a witness's reputation for veracity. However, unless a party's reputation is directly at issue—as it might be in a *defamation action—it is not admissible in civil disputes. The accused may present proof of his good character in criminal proceedings, and under certain conditions, he may be eligible for a good character directive. The Criminal Justice Act of 2003 eliminated the majority of the previous regulations pertaining to bad character evidence and placed new limitations on the use of witnesses' negative character testimony as well as allowing for broader references to a defendant's negative character. The Act stipulates that evidence of the defendant's bad character, which is defined by section 99 as "evidence of or a disposition towards misconduct," is only admissible if all parties to the proceedings consent to it being so; it must be important explanatory evidence; it must be relevant to a significant issue at hand between the prosecution and the defendant; it must have substantial probative value in relation to a significant issue at hand between the defendant and a co-defendant; it must be evidence correcting a false impression given by the defendant; and it must be evidence if the defendant has made an attack on the character
1. The standing of a witness or participant. Both civil and criminal trials allow for the presentation of evidence on a witness's reputation for veracity. However, unless a party's reputation is directly at issue—as it might be in a *defamation action—it is not admissible in civil disputes. The accused may present proof of his good character in criminal proceedings, and under certain conditions, he may be eligible for a good character directive. The Criminal Justice Act of 2003 eliminated the majority of the previous regulations pertaining to bad character evidence and placed new limitations on the use of witnesses' negative character testimony as well as allowing for broader references to a defendant's negative character. The Act stipulates that evidence of the defendant's bad character, which is defined by section 99 as "evidence of or a disposition towards misconduct," is only admissible if all parties to the proceedings consent to it being so; it must be important explanatory evidence; it must be relevant to a significant issue at hand between the prosecution and the defendant; it must have substantial probative value in relation to a significant issue at hand between the defendant and a co-defendant; it must be evidence correcting a false impression given by the defendant; and it must be evidence if the defendant has made an attack on the character
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