Is a defendant barred from presenting evidence of his criminal history to support his diminished capacity defense?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Williams, 245 Cal.Rptr. 336, 44 Cal.3d 883, 751 P.2d 395 (Cal. 1988):

Defendant acknowledges that evidence of his criminal history was introduced by his own testimony, elicited during direct examination by his own counsel. It is axiomatic that a party who himself offers inadmissible evidence is estopped to assert error in regard thereto. (People v. Moran (1970) 1 Cal.3d 755, 762, 83 Cal.Rptr. 411, [751 P.2d 414] 463 P.2d 763.) He argues, however, that counsel presented this evidence only after the trial court had ruled that the prosecutor would be permitted to offer evidence of prior convictions to rebut the diminished capacity defense that was to be presented. We infer from his argument that defendant's basis for urging error in the admission of his own testimony is that an erroneous preliminary ruling on the admissibility of evidence to be offered by the prosecution compelled him, for tactical reasons, to present the evidence he now claims was inadmissible.

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