Court Opinion

ID: 9716518
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 06:42:35.184578+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:46.341844
License: Public Domain

Hennessey, J.
(concurring). I concur in the result and the reasoning. Nevertheless, I consider it useful to comment once more, as I did in a concurring opinion in the case of Commonwealth v. DiMarzo, 364 Mass. 669, 678-683 (1974), that unfair prejudice to the defendant may result in some cases where proof of prior convictions is received for impeachment purposes. No matter how carefully the jury may be instructed as to the limited purpose of the evidence, common sense and experience indicate that jurors in some cases may well regard the prior convictions of the defendant as proof of guilt. “The danger of prejudice most clearly arises when the prior convictions [as in the instant case] are similar in nature to the indictments on trial.” Commonwealth v. DiMarzo, supra at 680. I suggest once more that justice may be assisted by. legislative attention to the problem. See Commonwealth v. DiMarzo, supra at 683.