Section 350 | CALCRIM (Jury Instructions)

(1986) 180 Cal.App.3d 622, 629 [225 Cal.Rptr. 733].
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Admissibility. Evid. Code, §§ 1100–1102.
RELATED ISSUES
No Discussion of Character Is Evidence of Good Character
The fact that the defendant’s character or reputation has not been discussed or
questioned among those who know him or her is evidence of the defendant’s good
character and reputation. (People v. Castillo (1935) 5 Cal.App.2d 194, 198 [42 P.2d
682].) However, the defendant must have resided in the community for a sufficient
period of time and become acquainted with the community in order for his or her
character to have become known and for some sort of reputation to have been
established. (See Evid. Code, § 1324 [reputation may be shown in the community
where defendant resides and in a group with which he or she habitually associates];
see also People v. Pauli (1922) 58 Cal.App. 594, 596 [209 P. 88] [witness’s
testimony about defendant’s good reputation in community was inappropriate where
defendant was a stranger in the community, working for a single employer for a few
months, going about little, and forming no associations].)
Business Community
The community for purposes of reputation evidence may also be the defendant’s
business community and associates. (People v. Cobb (1955) 45 Cal.2d 158, 163
[287 P.2d 752].)
SECONDARY SOURCES
1 Witkin, California Evidence (5th ed. 2012) Circumstantial Evidence, § 55.
4 Millman, Sevilla & Tarlow, California Criminal Defense Practice, Ch. 82,
Witnesses, § 82.22[3][d], [e][ii], Ch. 83, Evidence, § 83.12[1] (Matthew Bender).
CALCRIM No. 350
EVIDENCE
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