Also known as: prior convictions · previous conviction · antecedent conviction
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A previous criminal judgment of guilt that may be introduced in a later proceeding to establish an element of an offense, to impeach a witness, or to enhance a sentence.
Perry Pratt faced a felon-in-possession charge after police found a handgun in his workshop. He offered to stipulate that he had a prior felony so the jury would learn only his legal status. The prosecutor declined and sought to introduce the full record naming the prior offense. The court weighed the evidence under Rule 403 and excluded the details because the stipulation removed any need for them.
Phoebe Park moved to bar the government from using her prior theft conviction to impeach her. After the court denied the motion she took the stand and disclosed the conviction herself during direct examination. On appeal she argued the admission was error. The reviewing court held that her preemptive disclosure forfeited any claim of improper admission.
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Pamela Phillips was convicted of drug distribution. At sentencing the judge found she had a prior conviction that raised the statutory maximum. The court imposed the higher sentence without submitting the prior-conviction fact to the jury. The sentence stood because the exception for prior convictions permitted judicial factfinding.
Pierre Poulin pleaded guilty to a firearm offense. The judge examined his prior conviction record and imposed an enhanced sentence above the standard range. Poulin argued the enhancement required jury proof. The court upheld the sentence because the prior conviction itself supplied the basis for the increase.
Patricia Patel was convicted of a firearm offense. At sentencing the judge found she had a prior conviction that raised the statutory maximum. The court imposed the higher sentence without submitting the prior-conviction fact to the jury. The sentence stood because the exception for prior convictions permitted judicial factfinding.
Phuong Pham was convicted of a minor check offense. Because of three similar prior convictions the court imposed life without parole under the recidivist statute. Pham argued the sentence was grossly disproportionate. The reviewing court examined the prior convictions and upheld the life term as constitutional.
A court may exclude evidence of a prior conviction under Rule 403 when its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice. This occurs most often when the defendant offers to stipulate to felon status and the government nevertheless seeks to introduce the name and nature of the offense.
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Yes. When a trial court denies a motion to exclude prior-conviction evidence and the defendant then introduces the conviction on direct examination to reduce its impact, she may not later claim on appeal that admission was error.
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No. The fact of a prior conviction is an exception to the rule that any fact increasing the statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
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A prior conviction may be proved by any evidence, including fingerprint records, that reasonably satisfies the court the defendant was convicted.
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…do so until after Miranda had confessed orally. [^maj-68]: Vignera thereafter successfully attacked the validity of one of the prior convictions, Vignera v. Wilkins , Civ. 9901 (D. C. W. D. N. Y. Dec. 31, 1961) (unreported), but was then resentenced as a second-felony offender to the same term of imprisonment as the original…