Opinion ID: 1986204
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Defendant's Prior Convictions

Text: Next, the defendant complains that the admission in evidence of his prior convictions for assault with a dangerous weapon and for armed robbery was erroneous because they have no bearing on his truthfulness. To the contrary, M.R.Evid. 609 explicitly permits the use of any felony crime to impeach the veracity of a witness. M.R.Evid. 609(a); State v. Hanscome, 459 A.2d 569, 572 (Me. 1983). The rule implies that anyone convicted of a felony may not be truthful in testimony, and therefore, the crime need not include veracity as an element. M.R.Evid. 609(a) advisors' note & advisors' note to 1990 amend., Field & Murray, Maine Evidence X-XX-X-XX (3d ed. 1994). A felony will be admissible to impeach if the judge determines that the probative value of the conviction on the credibility of the witness outweighs any unfair prejudice to the criminal defendant. M.R.Evid. 609(a). We are unpersuaded by the defendant's contention that the convictions were inadmissible because they indicated a high degree of similarity to the crime charged. Aggravated assault [3] is significantly different from gross sexual assault. The record amply indicates that the trial court carefully weighed the probative value of admitting the defendant's prior convictions against the prejudicial effect of doing so. Although extreme care should be taken to prevent unnecessary prejudice to a criminal defendant, we cannot say on this record that the trial court committed an abuse of discretion.