Theus v. State

In Theus v. State, 845 S.W.2d 874, 879 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992), the Court of Criminal Appeals held that the absence of only one factor, the impeachment value of a prior conviction, negated admissibility of defendant's prior conviction for arson. In Theus, the arson conviction arose out of the defendant's pouring gasoline from a beer can through his girlfriend's postal slot and setting it on fire following a domestic dispute. No one was injured, and the defendant was not ordered to pay restitution. Therefore, the court reasoned that evidence of the defendant's prior conviction for arson had little probative value on the question of his credibility but possessed a great potential for prejudice because of the images conjured up by the term "arson," and because the trial court did not act to dispel such prejudice by allowing the defendant to present the facts of that conviction. Id. at 882 (holding that the potential for prejudice was great "because 'arson' potentially conjures up images of burning buildings and insurance fraud").