Wayne County Felony Conviction is Reversed

A conviction and sentence can be appealed to a higher court if there is an error in the proceedings or a defense lawyer is ineffective. With a skilled appellate lawyer, you have a shot at winning.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Commits Reversible Error

A Wayne County Circuit Court judge committed a reversible error when he suppressed the blood alcohol content (BAC) of the victim in a Reckless Driving Causing Death case in 2017. The Wayne County prosecutor successfully fought to keep this critical evidence from being introduced by the defendant at trial, and as a result, the jury convicted the defendant. On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed the defendant’s conviction and found that the evidence was critical to the defendant’s defense and should have been admitted. An appeal in Wayne County is often necessary when judges make improper legal rulings and over-zealous prosecutors take shortcuts or unfair advantage to obtain a conviction.

The facts of the case were that the defendant slammed into the rear end of the decedent’s vehicle, causing his death. The defendant testified that the decedent pulled suddenly into his lane, causing him to lose control. The defense sought to introduce the decedent’s BAC of 0.201 to show contributory negligence. In other words, the criminal defense lawyer argued that the high BAC level in the decedent, corroborated the defendant’s testimony that the decedent was driving erratically. The trial judge granted the prosecutor’s request to keep that critical information from the jury, and the defendant was found guilty.

Establish reasonable doubt and thus an acquittal at trial

The appellate court found in the appeal that the Wayne County trial judge’s ruling on the BAC evidence was an abuse of discretion. The panel held that defendant’s testimony, when coupled with evidence of the decedent’s extreme intoxication, was sufficient to create a question of fact regarding the decedent’s gross negligence such that the decedent’s conduct may have superseded the defendant’s reckless driving and severed the defendant’s criminal liability. In other words, the evidence of the high BAC combined with the defendant’s testimony about the decedent’s sudden lane change in front of his car may have been enough to establish reasonable doubt and, thus, an acquittal at trial.

On appeal, it is not enough for a defendant to show that there was a significant legal error in the trial. For a conviction to be reversed, the defendant must also show that the trial’s outcome might have been different had the error not been made. If the defendant fails to show that the error may have affected the verdict, the error is called harmless, and the appellate court will confirm the conviction. In this case, because the failure of proximate causation was the defendant’s only defense to the charge of reckless driving causing death, the appellate court found that it was more likely to affect the outcome and that the defendant was entitled to a new trial.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial judge’s ruling.

As an aside, the prosecution appealed the trial judge’s suppression of the defendant’s old OWI and OUIL convictions, which the prosecution wanted to present to the jury. The Court of Appeals affirmed the Wayne County trial judge’s ruling on this issue and found that the old convictions were irrelevant to the question of whether the defendant’s reckless driving was a proximate cause of the decedent’s death. The Court of Appeals correctly suppressed this propensity evidence under M.R.E. 404(b) and 403.

People v. Thabo Jones; unpublished opinion of 10-31-17 (COA# 330759)

Appeal Lawyer in Wayne County Michigan

If you are charged with or being investigated for a criminal offense in Wayne County, Michigan, call LEWIS & DICKSTEIN, P.L.L.C. today for a free consultation. Our defense team has an unparalleled track record for success, and we are not afraid to win!

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