Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Bad character definition

What does Bad character mean? Bad character describes evidence of a person’s prior misconduct—such as previous convictions or other reprehensible behaviour—used to suggest a propensity to commit similar offences or a tendency to be untruthful. In England and Wales, it is a statutory concept under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (ss 98–113). It excludes important explanatory evidence and the facts of the alleged offence. Evidence of a defendant’s bad character is admissible only through the statutory “gateways” and is subject to the court’s fairness test; for non-defendant witnesses it must have substantial probative value on a material issue. “Misconduct” covers the commission of an offence...

Gateway E (CJA 2003 s101(1)(e)): co-defendant bad character evidence, substantial probative value and untruthfulness (s104) (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

The Criminal Justice Act 2003, s 101(1)(e)

Section 101(1)(e) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003, often termed ‘gateway E’, enables a co‑defendant to introduce evidence of a defendant’s Bad character where it has substantial probative value on an important issue contested between them. Only a co‑accused can adduce such material, whether in their own evidence or through cross‑examination of a witness. Importantly, neither CJA 2003, s 101(3) nor s 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (exclusion of unfair evidence) applies to evidence advanced by a co‑defendant. Nevertheless, a judge may exclude it under CJA 2003, s 111 if a co‑accused’s application is deliberately late and intended to ambush their co‑defendant (see R v Musone). The statutory meaning of ‘bad character’ appears in CJA 2003, s 98, and encompasses evidence of previous convictions. See Practice Note: Admissibility of defendant’s bad character in criminal proceedings. If the statutory definition of bad character is not met, gateway E cannot be relied upon...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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