State v. Doty, 232 Ariz. 502

On December 11, 2011, Officer Scott observed Defendant with a crying woman in a convenience store parking lot and Defendant repeatedly asked to use the restroom.
Defendant was arrested on an outstanding warrant after a patrol contact, and a search incident to arrest yielded a .15 gram bag of meth and a partial hypodermic needle with orange cap.
The State charged one count of possession of a dangerous drug and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia based on the baggie, needle, and syringe.
In a pretrial ruling, the court allowed evidence of Defendant’s 2004 felony conviction for possession of equipment or chemicals for manufacturing dangerous drugs, under § 13-3415.E.2, to be admitted.
A sentencing minute entry for the 2004 conviction was admitted, and the jury ultimately found Defendant guilty on all counts with concurrent minimum sentences.
Defendant appealed, challenging the admissibility of the 2004 conviction and the denial of his motion for mistrial.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of prior conviction under § 13-3415.E.2	Doty should be allowed to have the 2004 conviction considered as drug paraphernalia context.	The unsanitized 2004 conviction was improper and prejudicial; the jury should not learn its nature.	Court upheld admission under § 13-3415.E.2 and did not abuse discretion.
Mistrial after inadmissible testimony	Repp’s remark about an arrest on a warrant was curative with strike and instructions.	The remark was prejudicial and required mistrial.	No abuse of discretion; no mistrial required given curative measures and substantial other evidence.

State v. Amaya-Ruiz, 166 Ariz. 152 (Ariz. 1990) (abuse-of-discretion standard for evidentiary rulings; credibility.)
State v. Wall, 212 Ariz. 1 (Ariz. 2006) (admissibility of prior convictions; Rule 403 balancing.)
State v. Dixon, 126 Ariz. 613 (Ariz. App. 1980) (prior convictions not per se inadmissible when related to offense.)
State v. Newell, 212 Ariz. 389 (Ariz. 2006) (jury instruction and cure of inadmissible remarks.)