Admissibility Of Character Evidence

80 Florida cases classified under this topic · sorted by citation count · see the citation graph · browse and sort

• United States v. George
  778 F.2d 556· 10th Cir.· 1985-11-29 ·cited 8×
  The court affirmed the conviction, holding that the late disclosure of potentially exculpatory evidence did not deny the defendant a fair trial, and the trial court properly handled the invocation of the Fifth Amendment privilege by a witness.
• People of the United States ex rel. John J. Rooney v. Housewright
  568 F.2d 516· 7th Cir.· 1977-12-05 ·cited 8×
  The dissenting judge holds that the defendant was deprived of a fair trial due to the exclusion of evidence regarding the deceased's reputation for violence and the improper emphasis on the defendant's silence to police.
• United States v. Oliver
  492 F.2d 943· 8th Cir.· 1974-02-25 ·cited 8×
  The court held that the exclusion of testimony regarding the victim's reputation for truth and veracity improperly restricted the defendant's opportunity to present an adequate defense.
• Eubanks v. State
  179 So. 2d 256· Fla. 1st DCA· 1965-10-21 ·cited 8×
  W.C. Eubanks was convicted of second-degree murder after the trial court erred in striking the testimony of three character witnesses. The appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding the error was not harmless because the witnesses' testimony regarding the defe
• United States v. Collier
  313 F.2d 157· 7th Cir.· 1963-01-16 ·cited 8×
  The court held that the trial court erred in denying the defendant's attempts to secure a material witness and in restricting cross-examination, leading to an unfair trial.
• Orient Ins. Co. v. Parkhill
  170 F.2d 510· 5th Cir.· 1948-11-26 ·cited 8×
  The court held that misrepresentations must be made with actual intent to deceive to defeat recovery under a fire insurance policy, and arson requires knowledge or authorization by the assured.
• Saussy v. S. Fla. R. R. Co.
  22 Fla. 327· Fla.· 1886-01-01 ·cited 8×
  The Florida Supreme Court reversed a judgment for the railroad company, finding that the trial court improperly admitted evidence of a key employee's character for truthfulness. The court also questioned the applicability of a statute regarding fire-setting and suggested the case
• In re Amendments to the Florida Evidence Code
  53 So. 3d 1019· Fla.· 2011-01-13 ·cited 7×
  The Court adopts the procedural aspects of the legislative amendment to the Florida Evidence Code, but expresses no opinion on its substance.
• Russom v. State
  105 So. 2d 380· Fla. 3d DCA· 1958-09-16 ·cited 7×
  Curtis Russom was convicted of rape and sentenced to life imprisonment. He appealed on four procedural grounds, including alleged juror misconduct based on a juror's undisclosed prior experience with his daughter. The court affirmed the conviction, finding no abuse of discretion
• Leonel Munoz v. State
  45 So. 3d 954· Fla. 3d DCA· 2010-10-13 ·cited 6×
  Leonel Munoz appeals his manslaughter conviction for shooting Paul Suarez, claiming self-defense. The appellate court affirms, holding that while evidence of a victim's reputation for carrying firearms may be relevant to show the reasonableness of a defendant's fear in self-defen
• Nelsenn Simon v. State
  38 So. 3d 793· Fla. 4th DCA· 2010-06-09 ·cited 6×
  Nelsenn Simon appeals his second degree murder conviction, challenging the jury instruction on the lesser included offense of manslaughter, the exclusion of victim propensity evidence, and an alleged improper prosecutorial comment on his right to silence. The Fourth District Cour
• United States v. Galloway
  937 F.2d 542· 10th Cir.· 1991-06-28 ·cited 6×
  The court held that the district court properly excluded evidence of the victim's past sexual behavior under Rule 412, and a remand for Rule 403 balancing was unnecessary.
• United States v. Cylkouski
  556 F.2d 799· 6th Cir.· 1977-05-04 ·cited 6×
  The court held that trying the appellant on count seven after acquittal on counts one and two did not constitute double jeopardy, and that the trial court did not err in its rulings on character evidence or sufficiency of evidence.
• Carnley v. United States
  274 F.2d 68· 5th Cir.· 1960-01-07 ·cited 6×
  The court held that excluding evidence of the defendant's general reputation for honesty was an error that required reversal.
• Krieger v. Gold Bond Bldg. Prods.
  863 F.2d 1091· 2d Cir.· 1988-12-19 ·cited 4×
  The court held that the enhancement of attorney's fees was unwarranted, but affirmed the district court's findings of gender discrimination and liability.
• Peeler v. Wyrick
  734 F.2d 378· 8th Cir.· 1984-05-15 ·cited 4×
  The court held that even if witness intimidation occurred, its impact was harmless error given the overwhelming evidence of guilt, thus affirming the denial of the habeas corpus petition.
• Valgean D. Britton v. State
  928 So. 2d 386· Fla. 5th DCA· 2006-04-07 ·cited 2×
  A trial court does not abuse its discretion by excluding evidence of a victim's prior acts of violence when the evidence is remote in time, lacks connection to the crime charged, and the defendant provides no evidence that she was aware of or influenced by the specific incident a
• Armstrong v. State
  243 So. 2d 181· Fla. 2d DCA· 1971-01-20 ·cited 2×
  The court held that the trial judge properly refused to allow evidence detailing the appellant's prior shooting, as it was not relevant to the current charge.
• Hance v. The State
  8 Fla. 56· Fla.· 1858-01-01 ·cited 2×
  Mary Hance was convicted of assault and battery and sentenced to six months imprisonment. On appeal, the Florida Supreme Court reversed and granted a new trial, holding that a defendant has the right to introduce evidence of her good character in a criminal prosecution even when
• Worrell v. State
  281 So. 3d 1275· Fla. 1st DCA· 2019-10-17 ·cited 1×
  Summary denial of a defendant's ineffective assistance claim based on counsel's failure to call witnesses is proper when the defendant's trial colloquy statements conclusively refute the claim, and defendants cannot rescind their representations by asserting a lapse in memory dur
• Wilson v. State
  971 So. 2d 963· Fla. 4th DCA· 2008-01-02 ·cited 1×
  The court held that the trial court erred in excluding evidence of prior confrontations, which was relevant to the defendant's claim of self-defense.
• Jackson v. State
  947 So. 2d 480· Fla. 3d DCA· 2006-11-08 ·cited 1×
  Jeffery Jackson appealed his first-degree murder conviction, arguing that cumulative trial errors deprived him of a fair trial. The Florida appellate court reversed and remanded for a new trial, finding that the trial court improperly restricted Jackson's testimony about his prio
• Dean v. State
  843 So. 2d 926· Fla. 5th DCA· 2003-03-21 ·cited 1×
  Alvin Dean was convicted of third-degree murder and aggravated assault in the shooting death of Herman Bellot. The appellate court affirmed the conviction, holding that while the trial court erred in admitting Detective Eld's testimony regarding the victim's reputation for peacef
• Camps v. Bravo
  142 F.4th 743· 11th Cir.· 2025-06-23
  The Eleventh Circuit vacated and remanded the district court's decision on equitable tolling because the district court failed to make sufficient findings of fact to allow for proper appellate review of its ruling.
• Jones v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2024-05-01
  Trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to hearsay statements introduced through law enforcement testimony because the statements were admissible for purposes other than proving their truth, and the trial court properly sentenced Jones under section 775.087, which
• Washington v. State
  Fla. 1st DCA· 2019-10-21
  The trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding defense witness testimony about the victim's prior sexual knowledge and conduct from three to four years before the incident, as the evidence was remote in time and irrelevant to the current charge. Any error in exclusion
• Lantz v. State
  263 So. 3d 279· Fla. 1st DCA· 2019-02-05
  Justin David Lantz was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder for killing his mother, Robin Susan Lantz, by strangulation and blunt force trauma. Lantz appealed on three grounds: exclusion of victim intoxication evidence, denial of a modified jury instruction on premeditat
• Kizzie Shanika Styles v. State
  217 So. 3d 1042· Fla. 4th DCA· 2017-04-19
  The trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding evidence of the victim's reputation for violence because the defendant did not assert self-defense.
• Watkins v. State
  933 So. 2d 1294· Fla. 4th DCA· 2006-08-02
  Mitchell Watkins was convicted of drug trafficking, drug possession, firearm possession during felony, and driving with suspended license. On appeal, the Fourth District reversed and remanded for a new trial because the trial court erroneously prohibited Watkins from testifying t
• Pino v. Koelber
  389 So. 2d 1191· Fla. 2d DCA· 1980-10-10
  In this civil assault and battery case, the Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a judgment for the defendant police officer, holding that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of the defendant's good character and the plaintiff's specific violent acts. The court clari