Opinion ID: 846467
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: the second prong of robinson

Text: This Court decided Ora Jones in 1975. The rule expressed there has been followed by numerous decisions of the Court of Appeals. [6] Yet, the majority insists that it has not become embedded or fundamental to societal expectations, that overruling it would not produce significant real-world dislocations. Surely 30 years of reliance creates a presumption that the rule in Ora Jones has become fundamental to our system of justice. The majority states that defendant did not act in reliance on Lester [ ] or Ora Jones when he produced an automatic handgun and pointed it at the victim. Ante at 730. This characterization of the test for determining whether overruling precedent produces significant real-world dislocations is obviously ridiculous when applied to precedent of the type involved here. However, it is not farfetched to say that defendant knew that someone might be accidently shot during his skirmish with Jeffries. He was entitled to rely on the fact that the judge would tell the jury that his defense was that there had been an accident. In addition, defense counsel had an embedded expectation that if he presented evidence of an accident at trial, the court would instruct the jury on that defense. But there is another major disruption to the justice system caused by the overturning of Lester and Ora Jones: Now an innocent defendant can be convicted if unable to carry the enormous burden of proving a different outcome but for the judge's failure to give an accident instruction. In summary, Lester and Ora Jones do not contradict MCL 769.26. Moreover, the majority cannot gainsay that dislocations will arise after 30 years of reliance on Ora Jones by the courts of this state.