Multistate Bar Examination Practice Question

Character can be proved through evidence of reputation or opinion testimony when admissible. Reputation and opinion evidence are considered acceptable methods of proving character because they provide insight into how a person behaves generally. Evidence of past acts, however, is generally inadmissible unless an exception applies because it can unfairly prejudice the jury by portraying someone based on prior incidents, which is not the purpose of character evidence. Answers involving specific acts, prior convictions, or extraneous conduct are incorrect unless they are introduced under a valid exception such as proving motive, intent, or absence of mistake.