Michigan Supreme Court Blog

In this interlocutory application for leave, the Michigan Court of Appeals yesterday published it's previously unpublished opinion in People v Calvin Kelly , Docket No. 331731 , reversing the Kalamazoo Circuit Court's decision to exclude evidence offered by the prosecution pursuant to MRE 404(b). Kelly is charged with kidnapping, three (3) counts of first degree CSC and assault with intent to commit CSC.  The allegations arise from an incident in 2008.  Kelly has readily admitted to having sexual intercourse with the complainant (the prosecution possesses favorable DNA evidence), but asserts that the encounter was consensual because the complainant is a prostitute and is merely upset because Kelly did not pay her. Kelly's DNA, however, has linked him to a total of five (5) CSC complaints, and he has admitted to having intercourse with three (3) others.  In each case, which span a timeframe from 1985 to 2010 and occurred in four (4) different states, Kelly told the s...

Yesterday, the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of Devaun Lopez who had previously been convicted following a jury trial in the Saginaw County Circuit Court.  The Court, in a per curiam opinion, concluded in People v Devaun Lopez, Docket No. 327208 , that the prosecution had improperly threatened a prosecution witness prior to testifying.  Dennis Hoskins was a key witness for the prosecution who had testified at the preliminary examination that the defendants had both admitted to him their involvement in the the murder and had openly discussed the details, including the use of a .38 caliber pistol, which matched the evidence from the scene. Just prior to the trial, the prosecutor became concerned that Hoskins was going to change his testimony from what he said at the preliminary examination.  During a colloquy between Hoskins, his attorney, the prosecutor and the two defense attorneys, the defendant's attorney claimed to have heard the prosecution thre...

Yesterday, the Michigan Court of Appeals published an opinion in People of the State of Michigan v Troy Bush, Docket No. 326658 (April 21, 2016) , holding, essentially, that a defendant may not be convicted of home invasion, MCL 750.110a(2), for allegedly breaking into a bedroom inside a home he has previously been granted permission to enter.  An interesting part of this ruling is the fact that the prosecution had moved in the trial court for a special jury instruction prior to the trial and the defense filed an interlocutory application for leave to appeal the trial court's granting of the motion.  The Court of Appeals denied the interlocutory application, but the Michigan Supreme Court reversed the denial and remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for consideration as on leave granted. Troy Bush, a handyman, considered the residence he was charged with breaking into to be his permanent residence until he was arrested for first degree home invasion, felonious assault ...