Previous Convictions of Accused to Impeach and Rebut Evidence of Good Character (s. 666)

Note: Specimen jury instructions serve as a template that trial judges must adapt to the particular circumstances of each trial, not simply read out in whole. They are not designed to be delivered "as-is." More information about the use of specimen instructions is found in the Preface and A Note to Users, which you can find here.

11.5 Previous Convictions of Accused to Impeach and Rebut Evidence of Good Character (s. 666)

(s. 666)

Note[1]

(Last revised June 2012)

[1] You have heard evidence about (NOA)’s good character (briefly summarize character evidence). You have also heard that (NOA) has previously been convicted of a criminal offence (specify).

(Where evidence of good character is led from character witnesses:)

[2] You may consider the evidence of (NOA)’s previous conviction(s) to help you decide how much or little you will rely on the testimony of his/her character witnesses that (NOA) has a good character for (describe relevant character trait).

(Where evidence of good character is given in (NOA)’s testimony:)

[3] You may consider the evidence of (NOA)’s previous conviction(s) to help you decide how much or little you will rely on (NOA)’s testimony that s/he has a good character for (describe relevant character trait).

(In all cases:)

[4] Some convictions may be more significant than others. As well, an old conviction may be less important than a more recent one.

[5] I emphasize that you must not use evidence of a previous conviction to find that (NOA) is a person of bad character and therefore more likely to have committed the offence charged.

[1] This instruction also includes the substance of Final 11.4, but deletes “only” from [2]. Where the only purpose of the prior convictions of the accused is impeachment, Final 11.4 should be given.