Is evidence of a person's character or trait of his or her character in a sexual assault case admissible?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Brown, A150891 (Cal. App. 2019):

Generally, "evidence of a person's character or a trait of his or her character . . . is inadmissible when offered to prove his or her conduct on a specified occasion." (Evid. Code, 1101, subd. (a).) However, "[i]n a criminal action in which the defendant is accused of a sexual offense, evidence of the defendant's commission of another sexual offense or offenses is not made inadmissible by Section 1101, if the evidence is not inadmissible pursuant to Section 352." (Evid. Code, 1108, subd. (a).) Under Evidence Code section 352, "[t]he court in its discretion may exclude evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the probability that its admission will . . . create substantial danger of undue prejudice . . . ." Prejudice in this context means evidence that " ' "uniquely tends to evoke an emotional bias against the defendant as an individual . . . ." ' " (People v. Gionis (1995) 9 Cal.4th 1196, 1214.)

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