Is evidence of aggressive and violent character in a murder case admissible under section 1101 of the California Criminal Code?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Ellison, D074036 (Cal. App. 2018):

prosecuted is not made inadmissible by Section 1101 if the evidence is: [] (1) Offered by the defendant to prove conduct of the victim in conformity with the character or trait of character." " 'It has long been recognized that where self-defense is raised in a homicide case, evidence of the aggressive and violent character of the victim is admissible.' [Citations.] Under section 1103, such character traits can be shown by evidence of specific acts of the victim on third persons as well as by general reputation evidence." (People v. Wright (1985) 39 Cal.3d 576, 587, italics added.) Although case law refers generally to "acts of the victim on third persons" (ibid., italics added), we are aware of no authority that expressly addresses whether evidence of a victim's character trait for violence must in all cases be limited to violence directed against a person rather than against an object.

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