In criminal and civil cases, how is character evidence treated, and what are the main exceptions?

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Character evidence is generally not admissible to prove that someone acted in accordance with a particular trait on a given occasion. The rules push back against using a person’s character to show how they behaved in a specific instance because such evidence is usually more prejudicial than probative.

In criminal cases, there are meaningful exceptions. A defendant may offer evidence of a pertinent character trait to support an innocence defense, and the prosecution may offer rebuttal. The victim’s character can also come in under narrow circumstances, such as when the defense relies on self-defense or establishes who was the aggressor. The idea is that the trial can consider whether a character trait is relevant to a specific issue in the case, not to prove conduct on the charged occasion by mere virtue of that trait.

In civil cases, character evidence is mostly out, but not completely. It may be admissible when character is an essential element of a claim or defense—examples include defamation, negligent entrustment, or other situations where the character of a person is itself a required part of the claim. Additionally, character evidence can be used for impeachment of a witness’s credibility, such as evidence about truthfulness.

So the statement that character evidence is never admissible in civil cases isn’t accurate; there are limited, specific circumstances where it may be admitted. The general rule is exclusion to avoid prejudice, with targeted exceptions depending on the context.