Opinion ID: 2279585
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: evidence of fennell's prior conviction

Text: Fennell was charged with delivery of cocaine, use of a vehicle for keeping controlled substances, and second degree conspiracy. He had been convicted of delivery of cocaine six years earlier, and Fennell filed a motion in limine to prohibit the State from introducing evidence of his prior conviction. Fennell argued that the probative value of the evidence would be far outweighed by its prejudicial effect. He also advised the trial court that its ruling would be critical to his decision whether to testify on his own behalf. The trial court denied Fennell's motion and Fennell did not testify. By choosing not to testify, Fennell precluded meaningful review of the trial court's impeachment ruling. This Court has no testimony to evaluate and no way of knowing whether the trial court would have modified its ruling in light of the evidence presented. Indeed, based upon the turn of events at trial, the State might have decided not to use the prior conviction as impeachment evidence. These and other, similar concerns were identified by the United States Supreme Court in its decision to deny appellate review to defendants in Fennell's circumstances: A reviewing court is handicapped in any effort to rule on subtle evidentiary questions outside a factual context. This is particularly true under Rule 609(a)(1), which directs the court to weigh the probative value of a prior conviction against the prejudicial effect to the defendant. To perform this balancing, the court must know the precise nature of the defendant's testimony, which is unknowable when, as here, the defendant does not testify. Any possible harm flowing from ... [the] in limine ruling is wholly speculative. The ruling is subject to change when the case unfolds, particularly if the actual testimony differs from what was contained in defendant's proffer.       When the defendant does not testify, the reviewing court also has no way of knowing whether the Government would have sought to impeach with the prior conviction. If, for example, the Government's case is strong, and the defendant is subject to impeachment by other means, a prosecutor might elect not to use an arguably inadmissible prior conviction.       Even if these difficulties could be surmounted, the reviewing court would still face the question of harmless error .... Were in limine rulings under Rule 609(a) reviewable on appeal, almost any error would result in the windfall of automatic reversal; the appellate court could not logically term harmless an error that presumptively kept the defendant from testifying. [2] We find the Supreme Court's reasoning persuasive. We note that even the trial court had difficulty considering Fennell's motion without the benefit of a factual context. The trial judge asked counsel whether he could decide the motion before seeing how the evidence unfolded and without knowing how Fennell would defend against the charges. He deferred ruling on the motion until the State rested, and still had to consider the probative value of the prior conviction based on assumptions as to how Fennell would testify. If it undertakes appellate review, this Court will be hampered by the same lack of context that troubled the trial court. We conclude that a defendant must testify if he or she wishes to preserve a claim that the trial court erred in allowing impeachment with a prior conviction. Fennell is not restricted by this rule, which operates prospectively. Accordingly, we turn to the merits of his evidentiary argument. A prior felony conviction may be used to impeach the credibility of a witness if the court determines that the probative value of admitting [the] evidence outweighs it prejudicial effect .... D.R.E. 609(a)(1). Fennell argues that the trial court did not adequately consider the prejudicial effect of the prior conviction. He contends that, because the prior conviction was for the same offense (delivery of cocaine) and because there is a general hysteria about drug crimes, the jury would have concluded that Fennell was guilty of the current charges if it learned about the prior conviction. Fennell also claims that he was severely prejudiced because the trial court's ruling caused him to give up his right to testify. Finally, Fennell suggests that the trial court improperly considered the admissibility of the prior conviction under D.R.E. 404, instead of D.R.E. 609. We find these arguments to be without merit. The trial court anticipated, based upon Fennell's opening statement and his cross-examination of other witnesses, that Fennell would claim to have been an innocent bystander who was unaware that a drug transaction was taking place. The court reasoned that, if Fennell were to testify along those lines, evidence of his prior drug conviction would be admissible for impeachment purposes. The court expressly found, as required by D.R.E. 609(a)(1), that the probative value of the evidence outweighed its prejudicial effect. Although Fennell says that the court should have given more weight to the impact of his prior conviction, both on the jury and on his decision not to testify, the trial court acted within its discretion in evaluating the competing interests. [3]