Opinion ID: 1383165
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Evidence of the prior offenses as rebuttal to the psychiatric evidence of Freeman's character.

Text: The state contends first that by calling expert witnesses to testify that he was not a sexual psychopath and that he was not the type of person to commit the offenses charged, Freeman placed his character in issue, thereby opening the door to rebuttal by the state. Thus, it is argued that proof of the details of Freeman's prior offense was relevant and admissible in rebuttal. The determination whether proof of Freeman's prior offense was permissible rebuttal evidence hinges initially upon the nature of the evidence which was presumably to be rebutted, namely, the testimony of Dr. Goodrich and Dr. Stolzheise concerning Freeman's mental characteristics. Freeman apparently desired to raise an inference that, if he did not possess the type of personality which would dispose him to commit the acts with which he was charged, then in fact he probably did not commit them. In order to achieve this goal Freeman chose to adduce expert opinion testimony which would show that his mental condition as to a trait particularly relevant to the crimes charged was unblemished. For this purpose, Freeman was allowed to call two expert witnesses; both testified that in their opinions Freeman was not a sexual psychopath and was unlikely to have committed offenses such as the ones charged. Thus, in summary, Freeman used opinion testimony in order to establish his good character; the proof of his good character was, in turn, intended to serve as circumstantial evidence of his conduct. [8] Although it is commonly acknowledged that a person's character will frequently be relevant to the issue of his conduct on a particular occasion, character evidence is normally inadmissible for this purpose. Thus, in criminal cases, the state is as a rule forbidden from attempting to establish the guilt of the accused by initiating an attack on his character. Yet the rule precluding use of character evidence to show conduct has traditionally not been applied to the accused in criminal cases. It has consistently been held that the accused may, in an effort to prove his innocence, seek to establish his good character. The accused need not testify before seeking to prove his good character. However, general good character may not usually be shown; instead, proof must be confined to particular traits of character relevant to the conduct with which the accused has been charged. Moreover, the evidence must bear on the character of the accused at the time of the alleged acts. [9] The exception which allows the accused to submit evidence of his good character is almost universally observed in the United States, and has long been considered a fundamental protection. [10] A rule equally well established is that by presenting evidence of his good character the accused opens the door to rebuttal. Hence, the state may seek to show, either through cross-examination of defense witnesses or by calling witnesses of its own, that the accused's professions to good character are ill-founded. [11] In presenting its rebuttal the state is restricted to showing bad character for the particular trait, or traits, of character initially focused upon by the accused. [12] To this extent, then, in this case the state is correct in maintaining that Freeman, by presenting psychiatric testimony, opened the door to rebuttal on the issue of his propensity to commit the type of crimes with which he was charged. However, this observation offers no facile solution, for the difficult question is not whether the state was entitled to rebuttal, but rather the extent to which it could properly go in its endeavor to counter the evidence of Freeman's good character. [13] This raises the question of the permissible methods of proving character. There are three possible methods by which a person's character can be proven: first, witnesses can be called to testify as to the person's reputation in his community; second, witnesses can be called to testify from their own personal knowledge of the person as to their opinion of his character; third, testimony and evidence can be adduced to prove specific acts or conduct tending to reflect on the person's character. Although the issue has not previously been considered in Alaska, of these three commonly recognized methods of proving character, only reputation evidence is permitted in most jurisdictions. [14] However, the practice which thus favors reputation over opinion evidence as a means of proving character has been subjected to severe criticism by scholars. [15] This criticism reveals that the rule permitting evidence of community reputation but excluding testimony based on a witness' personal knowledge of an individual's character was the child of an historical misunderstanding. The widespread acceptance of the rule cannot be accounted for rationally; rather, as one commentator has observed, [o]nce a rule is established it often grows because it exists. [16] Moreover, it has been persuasively argued that community reputation is generally the weakest and least reliable form of character evidence. It has been pointed out that opinion evidence is usually more probative of the issue of a person's character than community reputation, while, at the same time, it is no more time consuming or prejudicial. It has further been demonstrated that skillful use of the accepted techniques for questioning a witness about reputation will, in the final analysis, achieve the same result that would be achieved by simpler and more direct questions calling for the personal opinion of the witness. Accordingly, the rule which permits reputation but requires exclusion of opinion evidence appears to do no more than preserve a hollow and confusing ritual, fraught with pitfalls for the inexperienced and the unwary. We can perceive no valid reason for the perpetuation of such a rule. We hold, therefore, that in Alaska proof of a person's character may properly be accomplished by means of either reputation or opinion testimony. [17] While there has been much debate concerning the wisdom of excluding opinion evidence, the authorities have consistently agreed that proof of specific instances of good or bad conduct should be inadmissible for the purpose of proving character. [18] Proof of character by evidence of specific acts is, compared with either reputation or opinion evidence, time consuming and distracting. Such evidence, furthermore, will frequently create the danger of unfair surprise. Evidence of specific acts is especially pernicious in the case where it is employed to show the bad character of the accused in a criminal prosecution. Faced with a showing that the accused has committed reprehensible acts in the past, the jury is simply likely to conclude that he is a bad man, and that he deserves to be punished regardless of whether or not he actually committed the offense with which he has been charged. [19] It is this high potential for arousing jury prejudice which has led to the long established rule that evidence of prior misconduct by the accused is inadmissible if its only purpose is to show that he is a man of bad character, and that he is therefore more likely to have committed the offense charged. In the words of Professor Wigmore: The law here declares a general and absolute rule of exclusion. It is forbidden, in showing that the defendant has not the good character which he affirms, to resort to particular acts of misconduct by him. [20] For the purposes of the present case, it is crucial to underscore the applicability of this exclusionary doctrine to the prosecution's rebuttal of evidence of good character put on by the accused. As Professor Wigmore states: The practical bearing of the rule [excluding evidence of prior misconduct introduced to establish the character of the accused], it is to be noted, is to exclude this class of facts on rebuttal by the prosecution; for use of bad character in any form is already forbidden to the prosecution until the defendant has opened the subject. [21] As we have already noted, when the accused affirmatively asserts his good character the state is, in fairness, entitled to rebut. But the door to rebuttal once opened must not be broadened into a gateway to jury prejudice. Hence, it is well settled that the state, in presenting its rebuttal, is limited to the use of reputation or opinion evidence; specific instances of prior or subsequent misconduct may not be shown. The case of Sun B. Lee v. United State, [22] furnishes an excellent example, There, the prosecution had been allowed at trial to show that the defendant had previously been implicated in criminal activity similar to that for which he was being tried. The defendant was convicted, and appealed, claiming that admission of the evidence of his prior misconduct was error. On appeal, the prosecution contended that the defendant had placed his character in issue at trial, and that the evidence of his prior misconduct was permissible in rebuttal. The court explicitly rejected this argument, holding: Nor are we persuaded, as the government contends, that the appellant `opened the door' to the admission of evidence of this nature.    For it is well settled that, even where a defendant becomes a witness in a criminal case and does put his character in issue, the prosecution may not then discredit his character by proof of specific acts of misconduct. [23] The foregoing discussion makes it readily apparent that in this case the state's insistent inquiry into the details of Freeman's prior conviction cannot be upheld on the theory that Freeman opened the door to the issue of his character. Through the testimony of Dr. Goodrich and Dr. Stolzheise, Freeman placed his character in issue; the state was entitled to rebut this evidence, either by showing Freeman's reputation in the community or by calling opinion witnesses  including experts such as the ones called by Freeman  to testify as to their personal appraisal of Freeman's mental characteristics. The record does reveal that the state was not given prior notice of the fact that Freeman intended to adduce psychiatric evidence of his own good character. Yet this fact does not justify recourse to an improper line of examination. The state's cross-examination of Freeman as to the details of his 1948 conviction was not admissible as rebuttal evidence of Freeman's character.