If a criminal defendant introduces evidence of good character, what is a permissible form of rebuttal?

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When the defendant offers evidence of good character, the proper way to respond is to test that claim by cross-examining the defense’s character witnesses about specific acts of misconduct or prior arrests. This approach directly challenges the reliability of the asserted good character by bringing out concrete incidents that may contradict the claimed trait. It focuses on the same character trait the defense has invoked and uses the rule that specific acts, if relevant to that trait, can be explored on cross-examination. While the prosecution could sometimes present its own witnesses about bad character, simply introducing irrelevant evidence isn’t appropriate, and cross-examining the defense witnesses about specific misconduct is the standard, permitted rebuttal.