Opinion
No. 43331.
July 20, 1973.
Criminal law — trial — use of prior convictions to impeach defendant — effect.
Appeal by Wilbert Stevenson from a judgment of the Ramsey County District Court, Edward D. Mulally, Judge, whereby he was convicted of manslaughter in the second degree. Affirmed.
C. Paul Jones, State Public Defender, Thomson, Wylde Nordby, and Jack S. Nordby, for appellant.
Warren Spannaus, Attorney General, William B. Randall, County Attorney, and Steven C. DeCoster and Robert Kittel, Assistant County Attorneys, for respondent.
Heard and considered en banc.
Defendant appeals from his conviction of manslaughter in the second degree. The trial court denied defendant's pretrial motion to bar cross-examination of defendant as to prior convictions. The defendant testified and admitted prior convictions of aggravated assault and simple assault 3 years previously and of assault and battery 7 years previously. We affirm.
As stated in State v. Stewart, 297 Minn. 57, 209 N.W.2d 913 (1973), we are not disposed to overrule State v. West, 285 Minn. 188, 173 N.W.2d 468 (1969), as to use of prior convictions as impeachment of a defendant in a criminal proceeding.
The compelling interests of justice in the Stewart case are not present in this case so as to preclude the use of these prior convictions for purposes of impeachment.
We have considered defendant's other claims on appeal and find no reversible error.
Affirmed.
MR. JUSTICE YETKA and MR. JUSTICE SCOTT, not having been members of this court at the time of the argument and submission, took no part in the consideration or decision of this case.