What is the effect of admitting a prior conviction for a similar crime?

Remoteness. Convictions remote in time are not automatically inadmissible for impeachment purposes. Even a fairly remote prior conviction is admissible if the defendant has not led a legally blameless life since the time of the remote prior. (Mendoza, supra, 78 Cal.App.4th at pp. 925-926; see People v. Green (1995) 34 Cal.App.4th 165, 183 [court admitted a 20-year-old prior conviction, reasoning that defendant's 1973 conviction was followed by five additional convictions in 1978, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1989].) In this case, defendant had not led a legally blameless life since 1994. Not only did he testify he is currently engaged in bartering methamphetamine, but he had been arrested multiple times for theft- and violence-related offenses between 2004 and 2006. Thus, the remoteness factor would not have mitigated against admission of the priors.

Similarity. "`Prior convictions for the identical offense are not automatically excluded. "The identity or similarity of current and impeaching offenses is just one factor to be considered by the trial court in exercising its discretion."' (Mendoza, supra, 78 Cal.App.4th at p. 926, italics added; People v. Tamborrino (1989) 215 Cal.App.3d 575, 590.)