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The ABCs of “Character Evidence” in a D.C. Criminal Case

Jamison Koehler Evidence, Legal Concepts/Principles, Opinions/Cases

Over 65 years ago, Justice Robert H. Jackson, writing for the U.S. Supreme Court in Michelson v. United States, 335 U.S. 469 (1948), complained about the “helpful but illogical options” available to a defendant attempting to introduce evidence of his good character in a criminal trial:  “We concur in the general opinion of courts, textwriters and the profession,” Jackson wrote, …