Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1991
Abstract
Typically, arguments for restricting character impeachment evidence are based in part on the premise that prior crimes, at least violent crimes, generally indicate little about a person's veracity. The argument advanced here against character impeachment of criminal defendants does not rely on that premise; in fact, it accepts the premise that prior antisocial behavior, even not involving dishonesty, often does indicate a good deal about a person's general truthtelling inclination. A careful analysis of the situation of the accused on the witness stand-rather than an easy assumption about irrelevance-leads to this Article's broad conclusion that character impeachment evidence of criminal defendants ought to be eliminated. A similar analysis suggests that in some cases character impeachment of other witnesses ought to be allowed.
Recommended Citation
Friedman, Richard D. "Character Impeachment Evidence: Psycho-Bayesian (!?) Analysis and a Proposed Overhaul." UCLA L. Rev. 38 (1991): 637-97.