Bryant v. State, 534 S.W.3d 471

Appellant Sylvester Donnell Bryant was convicted by a jury of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, with punishment enhanced to a first-degree felony based on a prior felony; sentence: life imprisonment.
Before trial the court held an outside-the-jury hearing on admissibility of Bryant’s prior aggravated-assault conviction for impeachment under Tex. R. Evid. 609.
Bryant argued Rule 609(b) barred the prior-conviction impeachment because more than ten years had passed; the trial court ruled the State could use the conviction if Bryant testified.
On direct examination Bryant’s counsel asked whether he had the prior aggravated-assault conviction and Bryant answered “Yes, I was,” thereby eliciting the conviction from the witness himself; the State did not further introduce proof of the prior conviction.
Bryant appealed solely arguing the trial court erred by permitting the prior conviction for impeachment; the Court of Appeals’ decision was transferred to this court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of prior conviction for impeachment under Tex. R. Evid. 609 (and whether Rule 609(b) exclusion applies)	State: prior conviction admissible subject to Rule 609 balancing	Bryant: Rule 609(b) bars use because conviction is over ten years old	Court did not decide the Rule 609(b) question on the merits because error was waived; affirmed conviction
Whether trial court abused discretion admitting impeachment evidence	State: trial court within discretion to admit	Bryant: admission would be an abuse of discretion if 609(b) applied	Not reached due to waiver; court noted abuse-of-discretion standard but affirmed judgment
Effect of defendant eliciting his own prior conviction on direct exam	State: elicitation waives appellate challenge	Bryant: (argues error in court’s pretrial ruling)	Held: By preemptively testifying about the prior conviction, Bryant waived any appellate complaint (citing Ohler)
Whether appellate relief available despite transfer between courts	—	—	Court follows transferor precedent as required; affirmed

Davis v. State, 329 S.W.3d 798 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (abuse-of-discretion review for evidentiary rulings)
Martinez v. State, 327 S.W.3d 727 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (evidentiary rulings standard)
Bigon v. State, 252 S.W.3d 360 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) (review within zone of reasonable disagreement)
Ohler v. United States, 529 U.S. 753 (U.S. 2000) (defendant who elicits own prior conviction waives claim of erroneous admission)
Meadows v. State, 455 S.W.3d 166 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015) (Rule 609 standards)
Gonzalez v. State, 195 S.W.3d 114 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (upholding ruling if correct on any legal theory)
Leyba v. State, 416 S.W.3d 563 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2013) (factors for balancing probative value vs. prejudice under 609)
Them v. State, 845 S.W.2d 874 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992) (same balancing factors)
Roderick v. State, 494 S.W.3d 868 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2016) (appellant waived complaint by testifying first on direct examination)