Character Evidence to Prove Guilt
It is fairly well settled that character evidence to prove a defendant has a "propensity" to commit certain crimes is inadmissable. For example, let's say I am charged with shoplifting a shirt from a department store. Three years ago, I was convicted of shoplifting a pair of pants from a department store. At trial for the new offense, the prosecutor cannot bring up my prior shoplift conviction to argue to the jury that I am a thief and have the propensity to steal. Thus, I must have committed the current theft because I have stolen in the past. That is called character propensity evidence and it is inadmissable.
However, there are exceptions to this rule. One exception is with respect to Domestic Violence cases. In those cases, the prosecution can use past incidents of domestic violence WHETHER THE POLICE WERE CALLED OR NOT to argue to a jury a defendant is violent in his relationships with women and therefore must have committed the current domestic violence charge.
One way to keep this evidence out is if it is too remote in time. The law is murky when it comes to length of time. It would be easy if the law said anything over ten years is inadmissible, but such is not the case. Recently, a California Appellate Court (People v. Johnson, 2010 DJDAR 8662) held that prior Domestic Violence incidents from 15 and 18 years ago were not too remote in time to be admissable in the current domestic violence case.
Thus, if you or a loved one are charged with Domestic Violence, it is critical that you hire an experienced Criminal Defense Attorney who can navigate this complex area of the law and fight for your rights to a fair trial.