People v. Cope
People v. Cope
Opinion of the Court
Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, MCL 750.520d(1)(a); MSA 28.788(4)(1)(a). Defendant was sentenced to ten to fifteen years imprisonment. Defendant appealed as of right, claiming that the trial court abused its discretion when it allowed him to be impeached by evidence of his 1976 Ohio conviction for gross sexual imposition and that the verdict was against the great weight of the evidence. This Court affirmed defendant’s conviction. People v Cope, unpublished opinion per curiam of the Court of Appeals, decided February 14, 1985 (Docket No. 70305). Defendant sought leave to appeal and our Supreme Court, in lieu of granting leave to appeal, vacated our opinion and remanded this case to us for reconsideration in light of its recent decision in People v Allen, 429 Mich 558; 420 NW2d 499 (1988). People v Cope, 430 Mich 871; 421 NW2d 917 (1988). We affirm.
As noted above, defendant was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Defendant had three prior convictions: (1) a Michigan third-degree esc conviction in 1978, (2) an Ohio unarmed robbery conviction in 1976, and (3) an Ohio gross sexual imposition conviction in 1976. Defendant’s
Applying the clarified balancing test in Allen to these facts, we find that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting evidence of the gross sexual imposition conviction for impeachment purposes. Nevertheless, having reviewed the entire record, we believe that this error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.
Our opinion concerning the great weight of the evidence issue remains unchanged.
Affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). As I said in my
Since the majority now finds an abuse of discretion applying the "clarified balancing test” in People v Allen, 429 Mich 558; 420 NW2d 499 (1988), I believe that the error in admitting the evidence requires reversal. I do not believe it was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant testified that he did not have sexual intercourse with the victim, the victim testified that she had sexual intercourse with defendant on two occasions that day. Other witnesses differed in their versions of the events surrounding the question of access, and when the victim first took the stand she was unable to identify the defendant. After the courtroom was cleared, she did identify him and said she recognized him by the color of his hair. I cannot say the error was probably not outcome-determinative, let alone certainly or absolutely not.
I would reverse.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.