Should prosecutors be allowed to use the defendant's general character to convince the jury of the defendant's guilt of the crime at the trial?

Question

Should prosecutors be allowed to use the defendant's general character to convince the jury of the defendant's guilt of the crime at the trial?

2 Answers

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Answer 1

It's he said she said stuff if you get into that however if I am a juror and the defendant is being accused of a burglary then yah I'd probably like to know that said defendant was accused of robbing someone in the past...... It gives a background. If said defendant was say a family man then one might question why he is on trial for burglary... Was he majority in debt? Was he about to lose his home? Was his pregnant wife and 10 kids starving? Did he just have a major tragedy in his life which triggered a downfall? Some information about the background of a defendant may be crucial.

Answer 2

That is what cross examination is for . . .

You can cast doubt on the defendants general character by giving them a series of questions while the jury gauges responses during a cross examination.

This is where the Prosecution chips away at the credibility of this particular witness.