Court Opinion

ID: 9738434
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 19:53:02.547117+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:06.115516
License: Public Domain

D. E. Holbrook, Jr., J.
(concurring in part, dissenting in part). I concur in all of parts I and II of Judge Kelly’s opinion for the Court. I also concur in so much of part III of Judge Kelly’s opinion as holds that there was no abuse of the trial court’s discretion in permitting the prosecutor to impeach the defendant with his prior convictions. I must dissent, however, from the majority’s holding in part III that reversible error occurred when defense counsel inquired of the defendant on direct examination as to the length of time that he had spent in prison.
The rule that a defendant may not be impeached by reference to the length of his prior sentences is a sound rule. The amount of time that a defendant has spent in prison has little, if any, nexus to his ability or desire to tell the truth on the witness stand. People v Rappuhn, 390 Mich 266, 272-274; 212 NW2d 205 (1973), People v Nelson White, 26 Mich App 35, 39-40; 181 NW2d 803 (1970). Even the dissenters in People v Rappuhn agreed that it was a fair rule, they only disputed its applicability in the case. People v Rappuhn, supra, at 275 (T. E. Brennan, J., dissenting). The rule is specifically designed to prevent the prosecutor from using the defendant’s prior sentences to impeach him on cross-examination. It is not addressed to the situation where defense counsel questions the defendant on direct examination about his prior sentences. People v Rappuhn, supra, at 275, accord, People v Bledsoe, *30546 Mich App 558, 560; 208 NW2d 545 (1973), People v Ungurean, 35 Mich App 143, 144-145; 192 NW2d 342 (1971), People v Nelson White, supra, at 39.
I agree with the majority that the trial court’s ruling that it would permit testimony concerning the defendant’s total prior sentences was clearly erroneous. However, until defendant’s prior sentences were in fact revealed to the jury I fail to see where the error was prejudicial. In my opinion defense counsel waived his objection to the trial court’s ruling by questioning the defendant about his prior sentences. Cf. People v Brocato, 17 Mich App 277, 305; 169 NW2d 483 (1969).
While I recognize the dilemma the trial court’s erroneous ruling created for defense counsel, defendant’s trial commenced more than five months after the Supreme Court’s decision in People v Rappuhn. This Court should not presume that an assistant prosecutor trying a case would deliberately ask an improper and prejudicial question. See Rule 17.3, State Bar of Michigan, Attorney’s Oath. I find no reversible error.
I would affirm the conviction.