Opinion ID: 2612858
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: witness' prior conviction

Text: The defendant impeached one of the State's witnesses, Mark Linthicum, by questioning him about a prior conviction for theft. On redirect, the State elicited from the witness that the theft conviction occurred more than 20 years earlier. Immediately before the witness' testimony concluded, an off-the-record discussion occurred between counsel and the court, after which the witness was excused. After the next witness testified, defense counsel noted on the record that he had requested prior to the conclusion of Linthicum's testimony permission to introduce evidence of a 1988 drug conviction to rebut the inference he claims the jury was left with, that the witness had led a crime-free life since the theft conviction. The court excluded the evidence, stating that the witness' character had not been sufficiently brought into issue and opining that the witness had not left the jury with the impression that he had not engaged in any criminal activity subsequent to the earlier theft conviction. K.S.A. 60-421 limits the admissibility of evidence of a witness' conviction for crimes not involving dishonesty or false statement. Mark Linthicum's possession of marijuana conviction is not a conviction for a crime involving dishonesty or false statement. The only possible use of evidence of his prior possession of marijuana conviction was to attack his credibility. This was inadmissible under K.S.A. 60-421. Further, exclusion of this evidence as rebuttal evidence was not error. Rebuttal evidence is that which is presented to deny some fact an adverse party has attempted to prove or has placed in dispute. State v. Burnett, 221 Kan. 40, 43, 558 P.2d 1087 (1976). `The use and extent of rebuttal rests in the sound discretion of the trial court and its ruling will not be reversed unless it appears the discretion has been abused to a party's prejudice.' State v. Phipps, 224 Kan. 158, 161, 578 P.2d 709 (1978). State v. Lovelace, 227 Kan. 348, 353, 607 P.2d 49 (1980). See State v. Synoracki, 253 Kan. 59, 65, 853 P.2d 24 (1993). There was no evidence or inference here that Mark Linthicum had led a crime-free life since his prior theft conviction. Thus, even if evidence of a prior conviction for possession of marijuana is admissible as rebuttal evidence, there was no evidence or inference here to rebut, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding the proffered evidence.