Opinion
November 30, 1987
Appeal from the County Court, Nassau County (Thorp, J.).
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.
The court's pretrial Sandoval ruling (People v. Sandoval, 34 N.Y.2d 371), permitting the prosecutor to cross-examine the defendant concerning 2 of 5 prior convictions sought to be used by the prosecutor for impeachment purposes, in the event the defendant testified at the trial, was not an abuse of discretion. The defendant had an extensive criminal record. Her prior convictions for forgery in the second degree and attempted criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree were clearly probative on the issue of her credibility (see, People v. Sandoval, supra, at 377). It is well settled that the mere fact that a defendant has committed crimes similar to the one charged will not preclude the prosecutor from using that evidence for impeachment purposes (see, People v. Pavao, 59 N.Y.2d 282, 292; People v. Rahman, 62 A.D.2d 968, affd 46 N.Y.2d 882; People v. Brock, 125 A.D.2d 401; People v. Dekoskie, 125 A.D.2d 405; People v. Gonzalez, 111 A.D.2d 870). By limiting the number of convictions which could be used for impeachment purposes, the trial court minimized the potential prejudice to the defendant (see, People v. Magee, 126 A.D.2d 573; People v. Frumerin, 121 A.D.2d 736; People v. Johnson, 120 A.D.2d 615; People v. Watts, 118 A.D.2d 671). The defendant failed to meet her burden of proving that the prejudice which would have resulted from admission of her two prior convictions outweighed their probative value on the assessment of her credibility so as to warrant their exclusion. Thompson, J.P., Niehoff, Rubin and Sullivan, JJ., concur.