#4759 - Co Defendant's Bad Character - BPC Criminal Evidence

CO-DEFENDANT'S BAD CHARACTER s100 Criminal Justice Act 2009 s100 Non-defendant's bad character (1) In criminal proceedings evidence of the bad character of a person other than the defendant is admissible if and only if--- (a) it is important explanatory evidence, (b) it has substantial probative value in relation to a matter which--- (i) is a matter in issue in the proceedings, and (ii) is of substantial importance in the context of the case as a whole, or (c) all parties to the proceedings agree to the evidence being admissible. Must get leave of court. Important Explanatory Evidence Without the Bad Character evidence it would be impossible/difficult to properly understand other evidence, and its value for understanding case as a whole is substantial Substantial Probative Value in relation to matter-in-issue of substantial importance in context of the case as a whole "Substantial probative value" - Court must have regard to: * nature and number of events to which the evidence relates, * when those events/things alleged to have happened, * nature and extent of similarities and dissimilarities between each of the alleged instances of misconduct Matter-in-issue May go to: * credibility, or * propensity to behave in a certain way Credibility - Q: Whether the Bad Character evidence is reasonably capable of assisting a fair-minded jury to reach a view on whether the Witness's evidence is to be believed? * Is the evidence of previous convictions/bad behaviour sufficiently persuasive to be worthy of consideration by a fair-minded tribunal upon the issue of Witness's creditworthiness? To be "relevant" - must severely damage the Witness's credibility and that Witness must play a prominent role in the overall case.