Study guide
6.5 Good Character, Proof of Convictions & Bad Character Procedure
UK Bar — Criminal Litigation, Evidence and Sentencing Exam
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1 Chapter 1: Introduction & BSB Assessment Overview
1.1 BSB Centralised Assessment Structure & Regulations 1.2 Overriding Objective & Court Structure 1.3 Classification of Offences, Court Jurisdiction & Funding
2 Chapter 2: Commencing Proceedings, Charges & Allocation
2.1 Commencing Proceedings & Police Station Procedure 2.2 First Hearing & Classification of Offences 2.3 Allocation and Mode of Trial 2.4 Sending for Trial & Committal for Sentence 2.5 Youth Court & Special Allocation Rules 2.6 Sentencing Powers of the Youth Court
3 Chapter 3: Bail, Remand & Case Management
3.1 Right to Bail & Statutory Exceptions 3.2 Bail Conditions, Breach & Appeals 3.3 Remands, Adjournments & Custody Time Limits 3.4 Case Management & Pre-Trial Hearings 3.5 Prosecution & Defence Disclosure
4 Chapter 4: Indictments & Preparation for Trial in the Crown Court
4.1 The Indictment: Form, Content, Time Limits & Specimen Counts 4.2 Joinder, Severance, Amendment & Voluntary Bills 4.3 Arraignment, Pleas & Change of Plea 4.4 PTPH, Applications to Dismiss & Offering No Evidence
5 Chapter 5: Criminal Evidence — General Principles & PACE Exclusions
5.1 Preliminary Evidential Matters: Relevance, Admissibility & Tribunals 5.2 Burden and Standard of Proof & Presumptions 5.3 Confession Evidence & Mandatory Exclusion 5.4 Discretionary Exclusion of Unfair Evidence 5.5 Inferences from Silence
6 Chapter 6: Special Evidentiary Rules — Hearsay, Character & Identification
6.1 Hearsay Evidence & The Four Gateways 6.2 Hearsay Safeguards, Multiple Hearsay & Procedure 6.3 Defendant Bad Character Evidence 6.4 Non-Defendant Bad Character & Co-Defendant Character 6.5 Good Character, Proof of Convictions & Bad Character Procedure 6.6 Visual Identification & Turnbull Guidelines
7 Chapter 7: Witnesses, Privilege & Opinion Evidence
7.1 Witness Competence, Compellability & Special Measures 7.2 Oaths, Affirmations & Compelling Witness Attendance 7.3 Examination in Chief: Leading Questions, Memory Refreshing & Hostile Witnesses 7.4 Cross-Examination, Previous Inconsistent Statements & Re-Examination 7.5 Opinion Evidence & Expert Witnesses 7.6 Privilege, Public Interest Immunity & Immunity
8 Chapter 8: Trial Procedure in the Magistrates' Court & Crown Court
8.1 Magistrates' Court Trial Procedure 8.2 Summary Trial: Pre-Trial Rulings, Absence & Abuse of Process 8.3 Crown Court Trial Procedure 8.4 Jury Trial: Absence, Unrepresented Defendants & Abuse of Process 8.5 Speeches, Summing Up & Verdicts
9 Chapter 9: Sentencing Framework & Guidelines
9.1 Sentencing Framework, Principles & Procedure 9.2 Seriousness, Guilty Plea Reduction, Aggravation & Mitigation 9.3 Sentencing Procedure: Newton Hearings, Reports & Goodyear Indications 9.4 Custodial Sentences, Suspension & Release 9.5 Mandatory & Minimum Custodial Sentences 9.6 Community Orders, Fines & Discharges 9.7 Ancillary Orders, Costs & Dangerous Offenders
10 Chapter 10: Appeals & Post-Trial Remedies
10.1 Appeals from the Magistrates' Court (Crown Court & High Court Case Stated) 10.2 Rectifying Mistakes, Case Stated & Judicial Review 10.3 Crown Court Appeals (Court of Appeal Criminal Division & Supreme Court) 10.4 CACD Procedure: Rectification, Leave, Renewal, Loss of Time & Fresh Evidence 10.5 Prosecution Appeals, Attorney General's References & the CCRC
6.5 Good Character, Proof of Convictions & Bad Character Procedure
Key Takeaways Explain This Topic AI
A defendant of good character is entitled to both limbs of the Vye direction: credibility, where they have testified or relied on exculpatory out-of-court statements, and propensity, in every case.
Hunter [2015] restated the categories: absolute good character carries an entitlement to the direction, effective good character is a fact-specific discretion, and a defendant with recent or relevant convictions is entitled to nothing.
A previous conviction is proved by a certificate of conviction under section 73 PACE 1984 together with proof that the defendant is the person named in it.
Section 74 PACE 1984 makes the conviction of another person admissible where it is relevant to an issue in the proceedings, and the conviction is treated as proof of the facts on which it was based unless the contrary is proved.
A prosecutor's notice to introduce a defendant's bad character must be served within 20 business days of a not guilty plea in a magistrates' court or 10 business days in the Crown Court, and a party objecting has 10 business days from service to apply.
Last updated: August 2026
6.5 Good Character, Proof of Convictions & Bad Character Procedure
Sub-topics 4 to 7 of syllabus Topic 15 are the ones candidates skip: the procedure for adducing bad character, the mechanics of proving convictions, the direction the judge gives about bad character, and the mirror-image good character direction . They are also the ones that generate the most straightforward marks.
- 1. Evidence of good character
- The two limbs — Vye
Vye [1993] established that a defendant of good character is entitled to a direction with two distinct limbs:
Limb Content When it is given
Credibility Good character supports the defendant's credibility Where the defendant has testified , or has relied on exculpatory statements made out of court (typically in police interview)
Propensity Good character makes it less likely that the defendant committed the offence In every case where good character is established, whether or not the defendant gives evidence
Where two defendants are tried together and only one is of good character, that defendant is still entitled to the direction; the judge deals with the other by a suitable form of words rather than by withholding it.
Hunter — the categories
Hunter [2015] EWCA Crim 631 was a five-judge decision restating the law because judges were being asked to give directions to defendants with substantial records. It draws three categories:
Absolute good character — no previous convictions or cautions and no other reprehensible conduct relied on. The defendant is entitled to both limbs.
Effective good character — old, minor or irrelevant convictions, or a caution, such that the defendant may fairly be treated as of good character. Whether to give a modified direction is a fact-specific decision for the judge , and the court should not be pressed into treating a defendant with a real record as of good character.
Neither — a defendant with recent or relevant convictions, or whose other misconduct the prosecution relies on, is entitled to nothing . A judge may nevertheless give a tailored direction in the exercise of discretion.
Hunter was blunt about unmeritorious claims : the good character direction is not a windfall for a defendant with a bad record, and earlier authorities suggesting a liberal approach should not be pressed.
Where the defendant does not testify but relied on interview answers, the judge should still direct on credibility in respect of those out-of-court statements — a point tested regularly, because the intuitive answer (no evidence, no credibility direction) is wrong.
2. Proving convictions and acquittals
Provision Effect
s.73 PACE 1984 A conviction or acquittal may be proved by a certificate signed by the proper officer of the court, giving the substance and effect of the indictment or information and of the conviction or acquittal — plus proof that the person named is the defendant (fingerprints, admission, or evidence of identity)
s.74 PACE 1984 The conviction of a person other than the accused is admissible where relevant to an issue in the proceedings; once proved, that person is taken to have committed the offence unless the contrary is proved
s.75 PACE 1984 Where a conviction is admitted under s.73 or s.74, the contents of the indictment, information, complaint or charge sheet are admissible to identify the facts on which the conviction was based
Section 74 is a live trap. It is most often used to prove that a co-conspirator or the principal offender has been convicted — for example, on a charge of handling, that the burglary in fact took place. But it must be handled carefully: where the conviction of the third party effectively decides the defendant's guilt, the court should exclude it under s.78 , because its admission would be unfair ( Robertson and Golder ; Kempster ). Section 74(3) applies the same principle to a defendant's own conviction.
Convictions as proof of facts. By s.74(3) and s.75, where a defendant is proved to have been convicted, they are taken to have committed the offence unless the contrary is proved on the balance of probabilities — the burden being on the defendant who seeks to go behind it.
3. The bad character direction
Where bad character evidence is admitted, the judge must tell the jury:
What the evidence is capable of showing — propensity to commit offences of the kind charged, propensity to be untruthful, or a matter going to a specific issue;
What it cannot be used for — the jury must not convict wholly or mainly because of the bad character, and previous convictions do not prove the present offence;
How to reason — propensity is one factor among many; the jury must be sure of guilt on the whole of the evidence;
Where relevant, the limited class of defendant against whom the evidence is admissible, and any defence explanation for the convictions.
Weight is entirely a matter for the jury. Where the evidence has been admitted under gateway (d) to show propensity, the Hanson warning applies: a single previous conviction will rarely show propensity unless it shows a tendency to unusual behaviour or shares striking features with the offence charged.
4. Procedure: CrimPR Part 21
Party Time limit
Prosecutor — notice to introduce a defendant's bad character (magistrates' court) Not more than 20 business days after the defendant pleads not guilty
Prosecutor — same (Crown Court) Not more than 10 business days after the defendant pleads not guilty
Co-defendant As soon as reasonably practicable , and in any event not more than 10 business days after the prosecutor discloses the material on which the notice is based
Party objecting Application served not more than 10 business days after service of the notice
Non-defendant bad character (s.100) An application for permission, since s.100 evidence requires leave unless all parties agree
The objecting party must explain which facts of the misconduct are disputed , what facts are admitted , why the evidence is not admissible , why it would be unfair to admit it , and any other objection. The court may determine an application at a hearing (in public or private) or without one, but must give the party who served the notice a reasonable opportunity to respond.
The court may shorten or extend a time limit, allow an application or notice in a different form, or dispense with a notice — but late service that ambushes the defence is a strong argument for exclusion under s.101(3) or s.78 .
Exam traps in this section
The propensity limb of Vye is given even where the defendant does not testify; the credibility limb needs testimony or exculpatory out-of-court statements.
Hunter : effective good character is a discretion , not an entitlement.
s.74 requires care — exclude under s.78 where a third party's conviction effectively decides the defendant's guilt.
Prosecution bad character notice: 20 business days (magistrates) / 10 business days (Crown); objection within 10 business days of service.