Character evidence

Question 1

What are the three types of good character?

Answer 1

Absolute good character
effective good character
positive good character

Question 2

What is absolute good character?

Answer 2

where D has no previous convictions and there is no evidence of other reprehensible conduct

Question 3

what is effective good character?

Answer 3

Where D has previous convictions that are old, minor or relate to a different nature of offence.

Question 4

When there is effective good character, what does the court have discretion to do?

Answer 4

treat the defendant as being of good character.

Question 5

What is positive evidence of good character?

Answer 5

Where D shows that they have behaved virtuously (through doing charity work etc). This goes beyond normal understanding of ‘good character’.

Question 6

Name the four ways to show evidence can be adduced of good character.

Answer 6

Cross-examination of a police officer
Formal admissions under s10 of Criminal Justice Act 1967
examination in chief of defendant
call a character witness as part of the defence case.

Question 7

What are the five ways of formal admissions under s10?

Answer 7

can be made before or at proceedings
if made otherwise than in court, shall be in writing.
if made in writing, signed by the individual who made it or by the director or manager or some other similar officer of the body corporate.
if made on behalf of a defendant who is an individual made by his counsel or solicitor.
if made at any stage before the trial by a defendant who is an individual, must be approved by his counsel or solicitor before or at the proceedings in question.

Question 8

TRUE OR FALSE:
failure to give an adequate direction where D is of good character may not be fatal to any conviction.

Answer 8

False:
Failure to give an adequate direction would be fatal to any conviction as established in Vye [1993]

Question 9

In relation to the jury, What could be taken into account rather than should be taken into account when giving a modified direction due to accused not being entitled to full direction?

Answer 9

Good character- see Williams [2014] EWCA Crim 429

Question 10

When are the jury directed in relation to good character directions?

Answer 10

at the end of the evidence and before closing speeches.

Question 11

When should the issue of adducing effective good character by the defence counsel and why?

Answer 11

issue should be raised at the start of the trial as counsel will need to decide whether to adduce evidence of D’s previous convictions.

Question 12

What is the test for a good character direction and from which case does this come from?

Answer 12

2 limb test in which consist of 1. credibility and 2. propensity.
this comes from R v Hunter and Others [2015]

Question 13

What did Hunter say about the cases of Vye and Aziz

Answer 13

that they had incorrectly extended the benefit of a good character direction to defendants of bad character or with weak claims to such a direction.

Question 14

What was said about the first limb in Hunter?

Answer 14

it was a “positive feature which should be taken into account.”

Question 15

What was said about the second limb in Hunter?

Answer 15

the good character may make it less likely that the defendant acted as alleged and so particular attention should be paid to the fact.

Question 16

In relation to all three forms of good character, what did the case of Hunter say as to whether D gets a full direction?

Answer 16

if of absolute good character?- D gets full character direction.
if effective character-it’s for judge to make a judgment by assessing all the circumstances of the offence/s and the offender, to the extent known and then deciding what fairness to all dictates. Judge should not leave it to the jury to decide whether or not the defendant is to be treated as of good character.
if D introduces convictions of one type to show he isn’t that type of offender- no direction.

Question 17

When considering the first limb of the good direction test, what should be considered?

Answer 17

jury doesn’t concern themselves with whether credibility and good character are relevant to each other.
Jury takes the defendant’s good character into account when Weighing the credibility of the evidence that the defendant gives at trial.

Question 18

What must be considered in relation to the second limb of the direction test?

Answer 18

good character isn’t a defence.
the jury should consider good character when considering the Likelihood of the defendant having committed the offence charged.

Question 19

What is the direction on credibility where Accused doesn’t testify?

Answer 19

Vye: where accused hasn’t given evidence at trial but relies on admissible exculpatory statements made to the police or others, judge should direct jury to have regard to the accused’s good character when considering the credibility of those statements.

Question 20

What did vye also say as to the first limb direction regarding credibility?

Answer 20

where an accused of good character doesn’t give evidence and has given no pre-trial answers or statements upon which reliance is placed, a ‘first limb’ direction is not required as no issue as to the accused’s credbility arises.

Question 21

What did Hunter say about effective good character and previous offences?

Answer 21

a person cannot automatically expect to be treated as of effective good character on the ground that their convictions or cautions have no relevance to the charge, even when they are also old and minor instances of offending.

Question 22

True or False: Cautions can’t be ignored in the calculation of effective good character as it is essential that the jury are not misled by any claim made by the accused.

Answer 22

True.

Question 23

Which party has the onus of proof to establish the impediment to direction to which accused is entitled?

Answer 23

The prosecution.