State v. Gongoleski, 14 A.3d 218

On June 21, 2007, a domestic disturbance between defendant and his father led to the father being punched and the defendant bleeding from a cut he sustained breaking a window.
Defendant was charged on January 4, 2008 with two counts of simple assault (domestic), one count of vandalism (domestic), and one count of disorderly conduct (domestic).
A two-day trial occurred in October 2008 with contested credibility and limited physical evidence; the State sought to impeach defendant with his prior convictions for assault and violation of a no-contact order.
The trial justice allowed admission of the prior convictions for impeachment but limited their use and instructed the jury how to consider them.
The defendant testified and the jury acquitted one assault count while convicting on vandalism and disorderly conduct; sentencing followed, including probation and an alcohol treatment requirement.
On appeal, defendant challenged the trial court’s admission of the prior convictions as an abuse of discretion under Rule 609.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether admission of prior convictions was an abuse of discretion	Gongoleski contends credibility value outweighed prejudice.	Gongoleski argues prejudice substantially outweighed probative value; trial court failed to balance.	No abuse; trial court properly balanced probative value and prejudice.
Whether trial court properly limited references to domestic nature and victims	Limitations preserved fairness and prevented prejudice.	Limitations were insufficient to prevent prejudice.	Limitations were appropriate and effective.
Whether Rule 609 permits convictions for assault to impeach credibility	Rule 609 supports impeachment with any prior conviction relevant to credibility.	Similar convictions could unduly prejudice jurors against defendant.	Rule 609 permits; no reversible error given balancing and context.

State v. Remy, 910 A.2d 793 (R.I. 2006) (parity of abuse of discretion standard for Rule 609 impeachment)
State v. Medina, 747 A.2d 448 (R.I. 2000) (prior conviction admissibility for impeachment not limited to dishonesty)
State v. Pailin, 576 A.2d 1384 (R.I. 1990) (impeachment use of prior convictions varied by probative value)
State v. Gillespie, 960 A.2d 969 (R.I. 2008) (deference to trial court on 609 balancing; upholding admissibility where warranted)
State v. Drew, 919 A.2d 397 (R.I. 2007) (case-by-case balancing under Rule 609)
State v. Silvia, 898 A.2d 707 (R.I. 2006) (conclusion that credibility impeachment may involve non-dishonesty convictions)
State v. Vargas, 991 A.2d 1056 (R.I. 2010) (continues Rule 609 balancing framework)
State v. Rodriquez, 731 A.2d 726 (R.I. 1999) (admissibility of prior assault-related convictions for impeachment)
State v. Taylor, 581 A.2d 1037 (R.I. 1990) (impeachment with prior convictions when relevant to credibility)
State v. Maxie, 554 A.2d 1028 (R.I. 1989) (impeachment use of prior assault/robbery convictions)