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CHAPTER FIFTEEN BAD CHARACTER The Accused's Bad Character At common law, the prosecution were generally prohibited from mentioning the accused's bad character or prior convictions.1 It is undoubtedly not competent for the prosecution to adduce evidence tending to show that the accused has been guilty of criminal acts other than those covered by the indictment, for the purpose of leading to the conclusion that the accused is a person likely from his criminal conduct or character to have committed the offence for which he is being tried.2 The argument has always been that there is considerable risk that bad character is accorded much more weight than that relevance warrants. As such its prejudicial effect may well outweigh its probative value and the jury, with little experience in assessing such matters, should be prevented from hearing about previous convictions.3 That was supported when the Law Commission4 commissioned research which showed that knowledge of previous convictions...

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