What is the test for excluding evidence of a defendant's prior conviction for assault?

A trial court may exclude evidence if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the probability that its admission will create a substantial danger of undue prejudice. (Evid. Code, 352; see People v. Wheeler (1992) 4 Cal.4th 284, 296 [trial courts have broad discretion to rule under Evid. Code, 352].)

Defendant's prior conviction was clearly probative on his credibility, an issue defendant concedes "was of paramount importance" because his testimony was the only support for his defense that he had not driven the car or touched the firearm or ammunition. (See People v. Mendoza (2000) 78 Cal.App.4th 918, 925 ["defendant's convictions were clearly probative on the issue of his credibility . . . . This is particularly true in light of the fact that defendant's line of defense at trial was an outright denial of guilt, i.e., his credibility was directly at issue"].)

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