Opinion ID: 852653
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Trial Court Disclosure of Prior Felony Conviction

Text: Hardister argues that the trial court erred when it advised the jury that Hardister had been convicted of theft in the process of instructing the jury on unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. Hardister had stipulated to a qualifying prior felony conviction, and the State had filed an amended charging information substituting the fact of conviction for a description of the qualifying felony. The judge first read this form of charging information, which did not reflect the stipulation: Count 5, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon Class B felony. Albert Hardister had been previous convicted of Theft [5] under the Indiana code 354745, did on or about December 5th 2000 knowingly and intentionally possess a firearm that is a handgun and a shotgun. The trial judge then read this preliminary instruction that did implement the stipulation: The parties have agreed and stipulated that Defendant Albert Hardister has a [qualifying conviction]. No further proof will be introduced in this case. You are instructed that you are to consider such fact as true and proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Where status as a felon is an element of the crime charged and the defendant stipulates to his status as a felon, admission into evidence of the full record of a defendant's prior felony conviction is an abuse of discretion under Indiana Rule of Evidence 403. Sams v. State, 688 N.E.2d 1323, 1325 (Ind.Ct.App.1997), trans. denied (adopting the rule announced in Old Chief v. United States, 519 U.S. 172, 191-92, 117 S.Ct. 644, 136 L.Ed.2d 574 (1997)). However, we find that any error committed by the trial court in disclosing the nature of Hardister's prior felony conviction was harmless. There was no other reference to the prior felony during the trial and therefore no substantial likelihood that the trial court's reference to the prior conviction materially influenced the verdict in view of the evidence supporting Hardister's conviction.