What is the burden on a defendant to defend against the facts of his past convictions?

prior convictions, because defendant had been convicted of these offenses. The evidence was sufficiently similar because they were domestic violence offenses. There was no burden on defendant to defend against these prior offenses, because he had pleaded guilty. The admission of documentary evidence removed much of the potential inflammatory details of the prior offenses. Thus, we conclude that the trial court executed its duty by carefully weighing the probative value of the evidence against its prejudicial effect. (People v. Wesson, supra, 138 Cal.App.4th at pp. 969-970.)