Court Opinion

ID: 9659665
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 21:51:57.564165+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:14:10.561564
License: Public Domain

McCORMICK, Justice
(concurring specially) .
In Division III the majority holds defendant was not denied his privilege against self-incrimination when required to state on cross-examination that he had previously been convicted of a felony. Although the United States Supreme Court has not squarely met this issue, the rationale and dicta of Spencer v. State of Texas, 385 U.S. 554, 87 S.Ct. 684, 17 L.Ed.2d 606 (1967) and McGautha v. California, 402 U.S. 183, 91 S.Ct. 1454, 28 L.Ed.2d 711 (1971) support the majority position. See also State v. Everett, 157 N.W.2d 144, 147 (Iowa 1968). No other objection was made. I therefore concur in the opinion and result.
However, I believe this case presents an appropriate opportunity to decide whether upon proper objection a trial court has discretion to exclude evidence of prior felony convictions and, if so, under what standards such discretion should operate. We have previously recognized the issue but *497declined to consider it “until it is squarely raised by the record.” State v. Shipp, 184 N.W.2d 679, 680 (Iowa 1971); see also State v. Schatterman, 171 N.W.2d 890, 896 (Iowa 1969); State v. Anderson, 159 N.W.2d 809, 812-813 (Iowa 1968). I would decide the question now for the guidance of the bench and bar.
I. Is there discretion? I believe there is. Authority for use of prior felony convictions as impeachment is found in § 622.-17, The Code, which provides, “A witness may be interrogated as to his previous conviction for a felony.” There is nothing in the statute itself which appears to confer upon a cross-examiner an absolute right in all circumstances to inquire of a witness as to prior felony convictions. The provision is part of the code chapter on evidence. Our law of evidence presupposes exercise of judicial discretion in accordance with recognized admissibility standards whether the authority for the category of evidence, is statutory or not. This includes reputation evidence bearing upon probability or nonprobability of guilt or credibility. See State v. Sill, 199 N.W.2d 47, 49 (Iowa 1972); State v. Hobbs, 172 N.W.2d 268 (Iowa 1969), and citations. It would be anomalous to suggest impeachment is subject to interposition of judicial discretion except where interrogation as to prior felony convictions is involved.
There is a split of authority among jurisdictions with similar statutes which have decided the issue. The better reasoned cases have concluded such statutes place the discretion as to admissibility of evidence of prior felony convictions in the judge rather than the cross-examiner. See Luck v. United States, 121 U.S.App.D.C. 151, 348 F.2d 763 (1965); United States v. Palumbo, 401 F.2d 270 (2d Cir. 1968), cert. denied, 394 U.S. 947, 89 S.Ct. 1281, 22 L.Ed.2d 480 (1969); People v. Montgomery, 47 Ill.2d 510, 268 N.E.2d 695 (1971). This view is rooted in the doctrine that evidence must have probative value to be admissible, and the legislature will not be presumed to have established a rule intended to undermine the judicial prerogative of making that determination. Judicial discretion must operate for there to be an assessment of probative value. This judicial role is required in efforts to impeach credibility by showing prior felony convictions.
II. What are the standards? We have said, “A previous felony conviction may be shown only to impeach the witness and for no other purpose.” State v. Milford, 186 N.W.2d 590, 593 (Iowa 1971). Judicial discretion in determining admissibility of evidence of a prior felony conviction should therefore be guided by its relevance to credibility and absence of likelihood of improper influence upon the jury. In the present case the felony involved was a child desertion conviction which occurred in 1947 or 1948. The nature of the felony is such that it does not necessarily reflect upon credibility. It happened about a quarter century ago. There is no rational basis for saying defendant’s conviction of that offense so long ago renders him less worthy of belief than one not so convicted. Yet such evidence obviously could tip the balance toward conviction in a close case by affecting the jury’s view of defendant’s character rather than his credibility.
Rule 21 of the Uniform Rules of Evidence and Rule 106 of the American Law Institute Model Code of Evidence (1942) limit impeachment by prior convictions to use of crimes involving dishonesty or false statement. Illinois has adopted Rule 609, Proposed Rules of Evidence for United States Courts and Magistrates, developed by the Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure of the Judicial Conference of the United States. See People v. Montgomery, supra. That rule permits evidence of prior convictions for impeachment “only if the crime, (1) was punishable by death or imprisonment in excess of one year * * * or (2) involved dishonesty or false statement regardless of the punishment unless (3), in either case, the judge determines that the probative value of the evidence of the crime is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair preju*498dice.” 51 F.R.D. 315, 391 (1971). The rule also bars evidence of convictions where more than ten years have passed since conviction or release from confinement, whichever is later.
These rules make it clear the factors which should be considered in testing admissibility are the nature of the crime which resulted in the conviction and its remoteness in time. The nature of the crime is examined to determine its relevance and the chance of unfair prejudice from its use. Remoteness also affects relevancy. Judge (now Chief Justice) Burger proposed the following as a “rule of thumb”:
“[Cjonvictions which rest on dishonest conduct relate to credibility whereas those of violent or assaultive crimes generally do not; traffic violations, however serious, are in the same category. The nearness or remoteness of the prior conviction is also a factor of no small importance. Even one involving fraud or stealing, for example, if it occurred long before and has been followed by a legally blameless life, should generally be excluded on the ground of remoteness.” Gordon v. United States, 127 U.S.App.D.C. 343, 383 F.2d 936, 940 (1967).
The same rule was put in the framework of a balancing test in United States v. Palumbo, supra, 401 F.2d at 273:
“[W]e hold that a trial judge may prevent such use, if he finds that a prior conviction negates credibility only slightly but creates a substantial chance of unfair prejudice, taking into account such factors as the nature of the conviction, its bearing on veracity, its age, and its propensity to influence the minds of the jurors improperly.”
I believe we should tell our trial courts to use these factors in exercising their discretion as to admissibility of evidence of prior felony convictions for impeachment in civil and criminal cases. Applying them to the felony used for impeachment in this case would obviously render it inadmissible.
MASON, J., joins in this special concurrence.