Court Opinion

ID: 9736218
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 18:47:30.699856+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:27:05.096541
License: Public Domain

*750J. H. Gillis, J.
(dissenting). I respectfully dissent due to my belief that defendant has failed to establish an abuse of discretion by the trial court.
The extremely limited scope of review by which we are bound on this issue is based upon the recognition that few matters are more difficult for an appellate court, viewing only a lifeless transcript, to decide. Competency cannot be determined solely by analyzing the words spoken by a witness. Rather, the manner of speech and the demeanor of the witness are equally important to a proper determination. People v Harris, 110 Mich App 636, 652; 313 NW2d 354 (1981). The trial court heard and saw Rosalind Rose and thus had the benefit of considering these additional factors; we did not. Therefore, I would defer to the trial court’s ruling on this matter and affirm the conviction.