4.6 Impeachment, Prior Conviction of Defendant is a legal term that refers to the use of prior convictions of a defendant in a criminal trial to discredit their character or credibility. This type of impeachment is used when a defendant has been convicted of a crime in the past and the current criminal trial is related to the same crime or a similar one. The prior conviction may be used to demonstrate that the defendant has a history of criminal behavior or that they are likely to repeat criminal behavior. There are two types of 4.6 Impeachment, Prior Conviction of Defendant: direct and indirect. In direct impeachment, the prior conviction is presented directly to the jury in order to support the prosecution's case. In indirect impeachment, the prior conviction is used to counteract the defendant's testimony or to cast doubt on the credibility of their testimony.