Generally such convictions are only allowed to be brought up to impeach someone's testimony.
From: https://www.freeadvice.com/legal/prior-convictions-how-can-they-be-used-in-my-criminal-case/
Except in certain situations, such as those listed above, a criminal defendant can usually prevent admission of a prior conviction by refusing to testify at trial. As a general rule, whether a prosecutor or a defense attorney wants to introduce a defendant’s prior conviction, they must notify the court, meaning the judge, of their intention. A prosecutor typically succeeds in getting a prior conviction admitted into evidence if the defendant chooses to testify or if the defendant chooses to make their character an issue in their case. Typically, a prosecutor cannot introduce a criminal conviction to prove the defendant has a bad character if the defendant has not made his or her character an issue. In addition, the prosecutor usually cannot introduce a criminal conviction to prove a defendant has or had a propensity to commit crime.
If a criminal defendant chooses to testify, their prior conviction may become admissible for purposes of impeaching their credibility. Such an impeachment asks the judge or jury to question the truthfulness of the defendant’s testimony. The general rule is if a prosecutor or defense attorney wants to use a prior conviction to impeach a defendant’s testimony, the prior conviction must be for a felony or a crime involving dishonesty. This means that a defendant may not be impeached with a prior conviction for a minor offense, such as possession of drug paraphernalia, which has nothing to do with dishonesty.
Even if the defendant chooses to testify, a judge will not necessarily rule that a prior conviction is admissible. Most courts use a balancing test to determine if the prior conviction should be admitted. The judge weighs the probative value of permitting the crime to be introduced against the prejudicial impact on the defendant. If the prior conviction is for a similar offense, the judge may determine that the risk is too great. In these situations, the judge uses the reasoning that the jury will decide, “If he did it before, he probably did it this time.”
Typically, a prosecutor or defense attorney can ask that a prior conviction or set of convictions be admitted as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident.
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