0621

Q: And you remember Fielding Mellish?
A: He's got a record -- CHARACTER. Inadmissible.
... he was always being picked up at one demonstration or another -- CHARACTER. Inadmissible.
... He's a bad apple -- CHARACTER. Inadmissible.
... a commie, a New York, Jewish, intellectual communist -- NOT CHARACTER, not behavior
... crackpot -- CHARACTER. [arguable -- people could differ on whether they think this is evidence of a pattern of behavior]. Inadmissible.
I mean, I don't want to cast no aspersions.

Q: No further questions
Clerk: Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
A: I do.
Prosecution: Name?.
A: J. Edgar Hoover.

Q: Occupation?
A: Head of the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

Q: Can you tell the court why you are dressed like a woman?
A: I have many enemies and
... I rarely go out unless I'm in disguise. CHARACTER (did you see this one? It is a behavioral tendency). Inadmissible.

Q: Mr. Hoover, in your opinion, is Fielding Mellish a threat to the security of the United States? -- CHARACTER. Implies ongoing behavior. Inadmissible.
A: Enough to have his phone tapped.

Next witness:
Q: What do you think of Mellish?
A: I'm sorry to disappoint you but I've known Fielding Mellish for years and he is a warm, wonderful human being.-- CHARACTER but ADMISSIBLE because defense can elect to place his character in issue.

Defendant: Would the Clerk read that statement back please?
Clerk: I've known Fielding Mellish for years and he is a rotten, conniving, dishonest, little rat. -- CHARACTER but ADMISSIBLE TO REBUT GOOD CHARACTER EVIDENCE.
Defendant: Alright, I just wanted to make sure you were getting it.
Judge: You're out of order.

Questions? Email tanford@indiana.edu and refer to 0621.

END OF CLASS