What is the current state of the law on hearsay in the context of criminal convictions?

"[I]f past criminal conduct amounting to a misdemeanor has some logical bearing upon the veracity of a witness in a criminal proceeding, that conduct is admissible, subject to trial court discretion . . . ." (People v. Wheeler (1992) 4 Cal.4th 284, 295.) "Misconduct involving moral turpitude may suggest a willingness to lie [citations], and this inference is not limited to conduct which resulted in a felony conviction. While the trial court may weigh proffered impeachment evidence on its individual merit, there is no basis for a ruling that the court's discretion may never be exercised to admit nonfelonious conduct." (Id. at pp. 295-296.) "In general, a misdemeanoror any other conduct not amounting to a felonyis a less forceful indicator of immoral character or dishonesty than is a felony. Moreover, impeachment evidence other than felony convictions entails problems of proof, unfair surprise, and moral turpitude evaluation which felony convictions do not present. Hence, courts may and should consider with particular care whether the admission of such evidence might involve undue time, confusion, or prejudice which outweighs its probative value." (Id. at pp. 296-297, fn. omitted.)

"[E]vidence of a misdemeanor conviction, whether documentary or testimonial is inadmissible hearsay when offered to impeach a witness's credibility." (People v. Wheeler, supra, 4 Cal.4th at p. 300, fn. omitted.) "Nothing in the hearsay rule precludes proof of impeaching misdemeanor misconduct by other, more direct means, including a witness's admission on direct or cross-examination that he or she committed such

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