Note

Recognizing Character: A New Perspective on Character Evidence

  

Barrett J. Anderson [View as PDF]

121 Yale L.J. 1912 (2012). Courts have historically regulated the use of character in trials because of its potential to prejudice juries. In order to regulate this type of proof, courts must be able to recognize what is and is not character evidence, but past attempts to define character in the law of evidence have been unsatisfactory. This Note proposes a new framework to help courts unravel this age-old mystery. By considering legal scholarship in conjunction with psychological research and employing common tools of statutory interpretation, this Note contends that proof must have two components for it to be regulated by the character scheme in the Federal Rules of Evidence: propensity and morality. It then explains the elements of each component under the Federal Rules regime, examines several evidentiary examples drawn from real cases to illustrate how courts would apply the proposed framework, and concludes by discussing the broader implications of this new perspective on character evidence.