People v. Peeples
People v. Peeples
Opinion of the Court
Defendant appeals from his jury conviction of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, MCL 750.520b(l)(f); MSA 28.788(2)(l)(f). Defendant was sentenced to a prison term of three to ten years. We affirm.
The instant case is presented as an appeal from defendant’s fourth trial on this charge. Defendant was originally charged by information filed in circuit court on January 15, 1980, for the instant offense, which occurred on December 22, 1979. The first trial resulted in a conviction for first-degree criminal sexual conduct, which was reversed by this Court on two grounds: (1) prosecutorial mis
In People v Thompson, 424 Mich 118; 379 NW2d 49 (1985), our Supreme Court upheld the defendant’s conviction following a third trial. The Thompson Court held that retrial following a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury does not violate a defendant’s right to due process or a fair trial. The Court stated that subsequent retrials are continuations of the same case assuming a sufficiency of the evidence. I find no authority that a fourth trial violates defendant’s right to due process.
In three of the four separate trials, a jury found defendant guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. It can be argued that defendant was subjected each time to expense, ordeal and anxiety. However, my sympathies lie with the victim who not only was forced against her will to perform oral sex twice and have intercourse twice with defendant, but also had to relive those agonizing moments many times prior to and during the four trials.
I reject defendant’s claim that the evidence was insufficient to support the personal injury element serving to elevate defendant’s conviction from criminal sexual conduct in the third degree to the first degree. See People v Hollis, 96 Mich App 333, 336-338; 292 NW2d 538 (1980); People v Kraai, 92 Mich App 398, 402-403; 285 NW2d 309 (1979), Iv den 407 Mich 954 (1980).
Affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). I would reverse. I would also reject defendant’s claim that the evidence was insufficient to support the personal injury element serving to elevate defendant’s conviction from criminal sexual conduct in the third degree to the first degree. See People v Hollis, 96 Mich App 333, 336-338; 292 NW2d 538 (1980); People v Kraai, 92 Mich App 398, 402-403; 285 NW2d 309 (1979), lv den 407 Mich 954 (1980). Additionally, I would reject defendant’s double jeopardy claim. See People v McPherson, 38 Mich App 534; 197 NW2d 173 (1972).
Where I disagree with Judge Grathwohl is with respect to defendant’s argument that by subjecting him to repeated retrial due process was violated. I agree with defendant and premise my opinion for reversal on the conclusion that the course these proceedings took at some point amounted to a denial of due process. Due process is violated by a failure to accord the defendant fundamental fairness. People v Thompson, 424 Mich 118, 133; 379 NW2d 49 (1985). A corollary of this basic principle is that prosecutorial misconduct depriving the defendant of a fair proceeding can amount to a denial of due process. See People v Walls, 117 Mich App 691; 324 NW2d 136 (1982).
In Thompson, supra, the defendant contended that his retrial after a mistrial declared due to jury deadlock in the second of three trials violated both Michigan and federal due process guarantees. Although the Court rejected the claim on its facts, which did not rise to the level of fundamental unfairness, the Court explicitly refused to foreclose the possibility that repeated retrials could violate due process. Taking prompting from the intimation by our Supreme Court in Thompson that due process does act to constrain repeated retrials at
Defendant was subjected to the expense, ordeal, and state of anxiety attendant to four trials. Although I do not believe that four trials for one offense necessarily amount to a due process deprivation in most instances, I note the predominant role that prosecutorial and police misconduct and neglect played in withholding a final determination of guilt or innocence in the course of a single trial. Some instances of misconduct appear to be blatant and inexcusable. Although this case factually presents a close question, at some point enough becomes enough. I would conclude that a fourth trial in this case surpassed that point and thereby denied defendant a fair trial. Accordingly, I would reverse with the direction that the charges against defendant be dismissed._
See also People v Pribble, 72 Mich App 219; 249 NW2d 363 (1976), lv den 409 Mich 902 (1980); Harris v State, 312 Md 225; 539 A2d 637 (1988).
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