People v. Lankford

In People v. Lankford (1989) 210 Cal. App. 3d 227, the defendant on direct examination admitted a prior felony conviction and then volunteered: "I didn't have no incidents yet since I've been out." ( Id. at p. 232.) The court held that this comment as to his law-abiding nature constituted character evidence under Evidence Code section 1102, and permitted prosecution rebuttal under Evidence Code section 1102, subdivision (b). The court permitted impeachment with specific acts under Evidence Code section 787 "on the issue of his credibility, even though such evidence also related to appellant's prior conduct that rebutted evidence of his recent good moral character." (Lankford, supra, at p. 240.)