Welcome to LawTutorial.in – Your Partner in Understanding Law
Join Now

BSA 2023 § 145 — Witnesses to character

§ SECTION 145 · BSA 2023 · CHAPTER X — OF EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES

Witnesses to character

Character evidence is testable. A witness called to speak to a person’s character is examined like any other — he may be cross-examined by the other side, and re-examined by the party who called him.

How to read Section 145

A person called merely to vouch for character is a witness like any other — open to cross-examination, and to re-examination.

Who

A witness to character — one called to speak to a person’s character.

Cross-examination

May be cross-examined — the other side may test the evidence.

Re-examination

And re-examined — by the party who called him, to clear up cross.

The bare Act

The section in its own words — a single, short rule.

Section 145 · verbatim

Witnesses to character may be cross-examined and re-examined.

In short: where the law makes a person’s character relevant, a party may call a witness to character — someone who speaks to that person’s reputation or disposition. This section confirms that such a witness enjoys no special immunity: he is a witness like any other, and so may be cross-examined by the opposite party and re-examined by the party who called him. The point is that character evidence is not beyond challenge — the cross-examiner may probe the basis of the witness’s knowledge, his means of forming the view, and matters that qualify or contradict it; and the calling party may then re-examine to explain what cross brought out. Note the limit: this section governs how a character witness is treated once called — it does not decide when character is relevant or admissible, which is settled by the provisions on the relevancy of character.

→ This carries forward IEA 1872 § 140 — witnesses to character are open to cross-examination and re-examination.

Glossary

witness to character

A witness called to prove a person’s character (good or bad) where character is relevant.

character

A person’s reputation and disposition, as the law allows it to be proved.

cross-examined

Questioned by the opposing party to test the evidence.

re-examined

Questioned again by the calling party after cross.

like any other witness

Subject to the ordinary process of examination.

when character is relevant

Decided elsewhere (the relevancy-of-character provisions) — not by this section.

The picture

A character witness goes through the same stages as any witness — his evidence can be tested and then explained.

witness to CHARACTERcalled to speak toa person’s charactermay beCROSS-EXAMINEDandRE-EXAMINEDcharacter evidence is not beyond challenge — the basis may be probed in crossa character witness has no special immunity from examinationthis section is about HOW he is examined — not WHEN character is relevant

The section, part by part

Tap a part — the picture-story tells it first; the word-by-word text and example follow.

testableNo special immunity — cross and re-examination apply

In one lineA witness to character may be cross-examined by the opposing party and re-examined by the party who called him — like any other witness.
CHARACTERwitnessexamined in chiefCROSS-EXAMINEDthe basis is testedRE-EXAMINEDto explain crossthe same three stages apply to a character witness as to any other
Witnesses to character may be cross-examined and re-examined.character witnesses are fully examinable…they carry no special immunity — the ordinary rights of cross and re-examination apply.
ExampleA witness vouches for the accused’s good character. The prosecution may cross-examine him — for instance on how well he really knows the accused — and the defence may then re-examine to put the answers in context.
✗ Not thisA character witness is not shielded from cross-examination. Vouching for character does not place the witness beyond the ordinary testing every witness undergoes.

in contextHow he is examined — not when character is relevant

In one lineThis section governs how a character witness is examined once called; whether character is relevant at all is decided by the relevancy-of-character provisions.
WHEN is character relevant?the relevancy-of-character sectionsdecide this — not § 145HOW is he examined?§ 145 — cross-examinedand re-examinedtwo separate questions — relevance first, then the manner of examination
Witnesses to character may be cross-examined and re-examined.the manner of examination, once calledassuming character is relevant and a witness is called to it, he is examined by the usual stages.
ExampleIn a criminal case, good character of the accused is relevant; once a witness is called to prove it, § 145 lets the prosecution cross-examine and the defence re-examine — the ordinary machinery.
✗ Not this§ 145 does not make character relevant, and it does not enlarge what may be proved about character. It only confirms the examination a character witness undergoes.

Connected provisions

§ 144 · back

Producer of a document

A mere producer is not open to cross-examination; a character witness — being a witness — is.

§ 146 · next

Leading questions

A question that suggests its answer — barred in chief/re-exam if objected, freely allowed in cross.

relevance of character

When character may be proved

The provisions on the relevancy of character decide whether character evidence is admissible at all.

lineage

IEA 1872, § 140

Carried forward — witnesses to character are open to cross-examination and re-examination.