The right of confrontation guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States bars the introduction against a criminal defendant of testimonial hearsay by a nontestifying declarant unless (i) the absent declarant is unavailable to testify at trial and (ii) the defendant had an adequate opportunity to cross-examine the absent declarant prior to trial.

United States v. Hewitt, 634 F.2d 277, 278 (5th Cir. 1981) (conviction for three counts of unlawful possession or receipt of firearms; court reversed and remanded for a new trial, after finding that accused was erroneously denied the opportunity to present evidence of his general character as a...A criminal defendant may offer a pertinent trait of his or her character circumstantially -- to show the defendant's doing or non-doing of a specific act.

United States v. Goings, 313 F.3d 423, 426-427 (8th Cir. 2002) (conviction for theft and conspiracy to commit theft from an Indian tribal organization; accused argued that the district court erroneously excluded certain evidence about other employee loans and loan procedures; court affirmed conviction...During the cross-examination of a witness -- and during any examination of a witness who is a permissible target for impeachment -- the witness may be asked about specific acts that are indicative of the witness's untruthfulness if such acts are relevant to and probative of the witness' truthfulness or untruthfulness, unless the trial court determines that the acts inquired into are unduly prejudicial.

Hayes v. Larsen's Mfg. Co., 871 F. Supp. 56, 58 (D. Me. 1994) (dictum: "In determining the apparent risk in a negligence action, the Court may consider the evidence, or lack thereof, of other similar injuries with respect to the product in question. Such a lack of "evidence of other similar accidents or...When offered in civil actions, other similar events generally do not constitute character, or propensity, and are therefore not barred by the character rule, which prohibits the use of a person's character or propensity to show that person's conduct.