State v. Tarasiuk, 192 Conn.App. 207

On Sept. 22, 2016, police arrested Jacek Tarasiuk outside a members-only club after a trespass complaint; Tarasiuk resisted being seated in the cruiser and "thrashed," and Officer Lonczak testified Tarasiuk kicked him, jamming his thumb.
Tarasiuk was charged with assault of public safety personnel (§ 53a-167c(a)(1)), threatening, and first-degree criminal trespass; a separate Part B charged an offense while on release.
At trial Tarasiuk testified and the state sought to impeach him with a May 24, 2006 felony conviction for violating a restraining order (sentence suspended after nine months).
The trial court admitted the prior conviction for impeachment despite it being over ten years old; Tarasiuk disclosed the conviction on cross-examination and the prosecutor referenced it in closing; a limiting instruction was given only in the final jury charge.
Juries convicted Tarasiuk of assault of public safety personnel and first-degree criminal trespass (acquitted on threatening); Part B trial found he committed crimes while on release, producing a sentence enhancement.
On appeal Tarasiuk argued the court abused its discretion by admitting the over-ten-year-old, non-credibility-related felony for impeachment and that the error was not harmless.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of prior felony for impeachment	State: conviction is a felony, remoteness rule is flexible, probative for credibility, may be admitted unnamed	Tarasiuk: conviction >10 years old, not probative of truthfulness, prejudicial and should be excluded	Court: admission was an abuse of discretion — conviction remote and unrelated to veracity
Harmfulness of the evidentiary error	State: error harmless because other evidence impeached Tarasiuk and core elements did not hinge on his credibility	Tarasiuk: prior conviction likely tipped jury on the disputed kicking issue central to assault charge	Court: error harmless — state proved essential elements and defendant’s own admissions supported conviction

State v. Geyer, 194 Conn. 1 (1984) (sanitized admission procedure for prior convictions)
State v. Skakel, 276 Conn. 633 (2006) (ten-year guideline for remoteness of convictions)
State v. Young, 174 Conn. App. 760 (2017) (factors for admitting prior convictions for impeachment)
State v. Nardini, 187 Conn. 513 (1982) (remoteness and diminished probative value over time)
Label Systems Corp. v. Aghamohammadi, 270 Conn. 291 (2004) (ten-year remoteness generally precludes admission unless special significance)
State v. Banks, 58 Conn. App. 603 (2000) (larceny-related crimes more probative of veracity)
State v. Cooper, 227 Conn. 417 (1993) (prejudice greater when accused testifies)
State v. Askew, 245 Conn. 351 (1998) (ten-year benchmark is a guide, not absolute)
State v. Turner, 91 Conn. App. 17 (2006) (elements required for assault of public safety personnel)
State v. Robington, 137 Conn. 140 (1950) (age of conviction goes to weight, not automatic inadmissibility)
State v. Clark, 137 Conn. App. 203 (2012) (defendant must show nonconstitutional error was harmful)
State v. Sawyer, 279 Conn. 331 (2006) (standard for harmlessness of nonconstitutional errors)