State v. Schmidt

Unless the trial court abuses its discretion, a ruling that evidence is admissible will not be reversed. State v. Robinson, 244 Or App 368, 380, 260 P3d 671 (2011), rev den, 352 Or 33 (2012).

Defendant appealed a judgment convicting him of DUII (ORS 813.010(4)) and Reckless Driving (ORS 811.140). Defendant assigned error to the trial court’s denial of Defendant’s motion to exclude evidence of Defendant’s prior DUII convictions. Defendant argued that the DUII convictions were irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial to the new DUII and, although relevant to the Reckless Driving case, that it was erroneous to admit them in a consolidated trial of both the DUII and Reckless Driving Cases. Unless the trial court abuses its discretion, a ruling that evidence is admissible will not be reversed. State v. Robinson, 244 Or App 368, 380, 260 P3d 671 (2011), rev den, 352 Or 33 (2012). The Court held that the trial court did not abuse its discretion because it instructed the jurors to only consider the past DUII convictions as evidence for the Reckless Driving charges and Defendant failed to prove that the juror would not be able to follow the instructions to make the evidence unfairly prejudicial. Affirmed.