§ 1102 Character Evidence In Trials

• •If you're on trial, you can show that you have a good character to help your case.
• •The prosecutor can then show evidence to argue against your good character if you bring it up first.
• •This only works if you start talking about your character first—the prosecutor can't bring it up out of nowhere.

You're in court because someone says you stole a bike. You bring up that you've always been honest and never stolen anything before.

The law lets you talk about your good character to show you wouldn’t steal. But then the prosecutor can bring up times when you weren’t honest, like if you lied before, to argue against your claim.