Page 456 - Magistrates Conference 2019
P. 456

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF COMMON LAW BAD CHARACTER




                                                       - SIMILAR FACT/PROPENSITY








          Similar fact evidence is a facet of circumstantial evidence.







          It will be admissible only if it is “so very relevant that to exclude it

             would be an affront to common sense.”







          The question is one of degree – judicial officers must apply

             experience and common sense.







          Important to consider the disparities or dissimilarities in the


             evidence.


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