Section 14.59 Reputation

• Library: Sources of Proof (2014 Ed.)

C. (§14.59) Reputation

Reputation is the estimate the community has formed of the character of a person. Downing v. Downing, 537 S.W.2d 840 (Mo. App. W.D. 1976).

“Reputation” enters the legal arena in a number of different ways. In a capital murder case, the Supreme Court, in State v. Johns, 34 S.W.3d 93 (Mo. banc 2000), noted the general rule that, when a defendant asserts the defense of self-defense, the victim’s reputation for violence is generally admissible on the question of who is the aggressor, but the defendant must first show that the defendant was aware of the victim’s violent reputation or aware of a specific act or acts of violence committed by the victim. In State v. Gonzales, 153 S.W.3d 311 (Mo. banc 2005), the Court found that a crime victim’s reputation for violent, turbulent, and bizarre behavior was relevant to proving that the victim was the aggressor for purposes of the defendant’s claim of...