Court Opinion

ID: 9465331
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 00:43:26.785299+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:39:07.351205
License: Public Domain

ENGEL, Circuit Judge,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent. I would hold that Judge Siler’s statement of his reasons for admitting the evidence of Sims’ earlier convictions met at least the minimum requirements of Rule 609(b).
Since proof of Sims’ prior conviction of a felony is an essential element of the crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1202(a)(1) (Appendix), the jury was necessarily possessed of this prejudicial information regardless of whether he testified. Likewise, we have held in our circuit that it is not improper for an indictment to charge or the government to prove in such cases that the defendant had been previously convicted of more than one felony. United States v. Burkhart, 545 F.2d 14 (6th Cir. 1976); United States v. Fields, 500 F.2d 69 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1071, 95 S.Ct. 659, 42 L.Ed.2d 667 (1974). The government is also not obligated to accept a stipulation from the defendant in lieu of presenting proof of prior crimes to the jury. Burkhart, supra. Thus it is entirely possible that the government here might have included the other felonies in the indictment and thus have placed them before the jury in any event, without any compliance with Rule 609 being required.
Of course, the government did not do so here, nor do I suggest that it should have. I do suggest, however, that in prosecutions under Section 1202(a)(1), at least, the prejudicial impact of proof of prior convictions is considerably lessened because the jury already knows the defendant had a record. At the same time the value of the evidence to the jury in determining the credibility of the defendant as a witness is somewhat enhanced because a man with a more extensive record is much more likely to know it is unlawful to possess weapons and to guard against the danger. The case hung on whether the jury would believe or disbelieve Sims’ story. In such circumstances, the jury should be possessed of as much information as is useful and permissible to assist it in the difficult task of assessing the defendant’s credibility.
Although somewhat abbreviated in form, the trial judge’s statement here reflects, in my judgment, a conscientious exercise of the discretion vested in him under Rule 609. I would affirm.