The parties can stipulate or agree to the admissibility of evidence. A stipulation is an agreement by both sides that certain evidence will be admitted. This is often done by reading a stipulation to the jury. The stipulated evidence can be considered by the jury along with the other evidence in reaching its verdict.
The State is not required to accept a stipulation of evidence and has the right to present its case. Quinn v. State, 255 Ga. App. 744 (2002). However, in case in which proof of a prior conviction is an element of the crime, the judge abuses his discretion in rejecting a defendant's offer to stipulate to the prior conviction without disclosing to the jury the nature of the underlying crime, without first weighing the prejudicial effect of disclosing the nature of the conviction. Old Chief v. United States, 519 U.S. 172 (1997). For example, a defendant charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon may wish to stipulate that he is a convicted felon. The judge must allow a defendant to stipulate to his status as a convicted felon if: (1) the defendant's prior conviction is of a nature likely to inflame the passions of the jury and raise the risk of a conviction based on improper considerations, and (2) the purpose of the evidence is solely to prove the defendant's status as a convicted felon. Hill v. State, 290 Ga. 493 (2012); Ross v. State, 279 Ga. 365 (2005).