Opinion ID: 1120003
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: prior jury verdict

Text: Under RCW 10.52.030, a witness' conviction may be proved for the purpose of affecting the weight of his testimony.... This provision allows the State to rely for impeachment purposes on prior convictions in which judgment and sentence have been entered, even if the convictions are pending on appeal. State v. Robbins, 37 Wn.2d 492, 224 P.2d 1076 (1950); State v. Johnson, 141 Wash. 324, 251 P. 589 (1926). The Court of Appeals has further held that a prior guilty plea on which judgment and sentence have not yet been entered can be used for later impeachment of a witness. State v. Tate, 2 Wn. App. 241, 469 P.2d 999 (1970). However, the specific question of whether a jury verdict without judgment or sentence can be used for later impeachment of the testifying defendant has not been considered by this court. Mr. Herman argues that, because the word conviction in criminal statutes may have varying meaning, Matsen v. Kaiser, 74 Wn.2d 231, 236, 443 P.2d 843 (1968), that in consideration of a jury verdict, judgment and sentence should be necessary before the conviction can be used for impeachment purposes. [2] The defendant asserts that the guilty plea represents an acknowledgement of guilt which is more probative for impeachment purposes than is the unratified jury verdict. We cannot agree. The jury verdict is at least as good, and probably better, than the guilty plea as an indication of actual guilt which impeaches the credibility of a witness. The court 50 years ago, however, indicated a belief that the jury verdict itself is the act which makes impeachment possible: It is the verdict of the jury upon such an occasion that affects the credibility of a witness. Prior to the trial and verdict of guilty, the law presumes that he was not guilty, but, when the jury find that he was guilty, the presumption of innocence is wiped out and the opposite presumption prevails. State v. Johnson, supra at 328. When coupled with the consistent ruling in the courts of this state that the initial determination of guilty effectively impeaches the credibility of an individual sufficiently to fall within RCW 10.52.030, the distinction from State v. Tate suggested by the defendant is not persuasive. The position that the attack by the State could properly have been allowed is also justified by the fact that judgment and sentence against Mr. Herman in the assault case was later entered and affirmed by the appellate court. State v. Herman, 23 Wn. App. 1070 (1979). It would be senseless to remand for a new trial because clearly the assault conviction confirmed by the sentence and judgment could be used for impeachment purposes in that new trial. We therefore uphold the trial court's ruling, which would have allowed the State to use the jury's guilty verdict in the prior assault case to impeach the defendant had he taken the stand. Affirmed. UTTER, C.J., and ROSELLINI, STAFFORD, WRIGHT, BRACHTENBACH, DOLLIVER, HICKS, and WILLIAMS, JJ., concur.