A Study On The Application Of Defendant Character Evidence In Our Criminal Justice

Evidence of the character of the defendant is evidence of the character traits of the defendant.Character evidence of the defendant may bias the trial judge’s perception of the case and delay the progress of the trial.But it also has an irreplaceable value,it can identify the facts of the case,standardize the sentencing reflects the legal "flexibility",but also in the protection of the defendant’s right to appeal and other aspects can play a role.Rejecting character evidence is not desirable,the need to reduce prejudgment and bias as much as possible through the design of the system,in order to protect the defendant’s character evidence in the trial to play its proper role.The emphasis on sentencing in China’s ongoing reforms such as plea-bargaining leniency has created a favorable environment for activating the use of character evidence.Previously,scholars have paid more attention to the theoretical background of character evidence,but this paper examines the use of character evidence of defendants in criminal judicial practice in China through case search.The forms of character evidence of defendants in judicial practice are divided into two categories: "explicit and implicit".Explicit use is reflected in social investigation reports and recidivism aggravation,which are explicitly provided for by law.Implicit use,such as the certificate of good deeds and village committee certificate,is not provided by law,but there are more types of evidence,so it is difficult to list them all.In addition,with the promotion of corporate compliance reform,corporate character evidence is emerging in judicial practice and its use is gradually increasing.In judicial practice,character evidence is mainly used as a constituent element of crime,and it also plays a unique role in discretionary sentencing and assisting in identifying the facts of the case.However,in practice,there are still problems of arbitrary admission of character evidence,premature intervention of sentencing evidence,and formalization of character investigation reports,which also need to be improved in the future.In this regard,it is necessary to learn from overseas experience.The Federal Evidence Law of the United States provides for a more complete exclusion of character evidence rules and exceptions,and the corresponding cases are also rich,which is of great significance for improving the use of character evidence in China.Taiwan is the same as the mainland,and its provisions on criminal information also provide a reference for regulating the use of prior conviction evidence in criminal trials in China.In order to make better use of the character evidence of the defendant and bring into play the value of character evidence,we should first maintain a prudent attitude in principle.On this basis,the independent reform of sentencing should be promoted to play the role of discretionary sentencing of character evidence,and the supplementary corroboration rules should be established to play the role of character evidence as an aid to investigation in special cases.Combined with the needs of China’s corporate compliance reform,the rules of equal application of corporate character evidence should be established to determine the corporate "character" from four aspects: corporate previous behavior,reputation,opinions,and compliance system construction.In view of the current state of judicial practice,at this stage,guidance cases can be issued to guide the use of such evidence,while solving the problem of premature appearance of prior evidence in court trials.Finally,in order to continue to improve the existing character investigation system,efforts should be made to combine new technologies in three aspects:investigation subjects,content and methods.