Opinion ID: 1881709
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: Did the trial court err in allowing Jackson to introduce evidence of his evaluations as an Army officer into evidence?

Text: ¶ 74. Alpha contends that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence records pertaining to Jackson's Officer Evaluation Reports. Specifically, Alpha contends that (1) the admission of the reports is in violation of Rule 404 of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence; (2) such evidence is prejudicial and inadmissible if the defendant does not know the plaintiff nor is aware of his reputation; and (3) the records do not relate to Jackson's refusal to leave the casino. ¶ 75. This Court has held that the standard of review for either the admission or exclusion of evidence is abuse of discretion. Floyd v. City of Crystal Springs, 749 So.2d at 113. The court will not reverse the admission or exclusion of evidence unless the error adversely affects a substantial right of a party. Id. ¶ 76. Mississippi Rule of Evidence 404 states the following: (a) Character Evidence Generally. Evidence of a person's character or a trait of his character is not admissible for the purpose of proving that he acted in conformity therewith on a particular occasion, except: (1) Character of Accused. Evidence of a pertinent trait of his character offered by an accused, or by the prosecution to rebut the same; (2) Character of Victim. Evidence of a pertinent trait of character of the victim of the crime offered by an accused, or by the prosecution to rebut the same, or evidence of a character trait of peacefulness of the victim offered by the prosecution to rebut evidence that the victim was the first aggressor; (3) Character of Witness. Evidence of the character of a witness, as provided in Rules 607, 608, and 609. (b) Other Crimes, Wrongs, or Acts. Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. ¶ 77. This Court has held that in civil cases, generally, a party may not support its position with testimony concerning good character or reputation. Millers Mut. Fire Ins. Co. v. King, 232 Miss. 260, 267-68, 98 So.2d 662, 663-64 (1957). When good character and reputation are in issue, however, such as in a false imprisonment case, the evidence is admissible. Id. The Court in Millers further recognized that character may be in issue in cases involving malicious prosecution and in determining the right and extent of recovery. Id. at 268, 98 So.2d at 664. Alpha contends that there is an exception to Rule 404 for malicious prosecution cases only if the defendant knows the plaintiff and character. If the defendant does not know the plaintiff nor is aware of his reputation then the evidence is inadmissible and prejudicial. Further, Alpha contends that the reports and profanity do not related to whether Jackson refused to leave the casino. ¶ 78. As to the admission of the reports under Rule 404, this Court has held that when good character evidence is in issue, such as in cases of false imprisonment and malicious prosecution, evidence is admissible. As to the general rule for malicious prosecution cases cited by Alpha concerning a defendant's prior knowledge of reputation, this Court finds the outside case law cited in support of this position to be neither binding on this Court nor persuasive. ¶ 79. As to the contention that the reports and use of profanity are not related to whether Jackson refused to leave the casino, this Court finds that Jackson's character was directly at issue in trial and the documents were correctly admitted into evidence. The trial judge ruled that Jackson's character was called into question concerning his conduct at the casino and, therefore, the reports were admissible. Jackson was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. There was conflicting testimony from both litigants' witnesses concerning the whether Jackson was loud, disruptive, and used profanity to initially warrant the casino wanting Jackson removed from the premises. Alpha employees further testified that Jackson, while in line at the main cage, was loud and disruptive. Since the conduct of Jackson was at issue in the disorderly conduct charge and his character was in issue, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in properly ruling that the reports were admissible at trial for the false imprisonment and malicious prosecution claims.