Court Opinion

ID: 9580200
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:03:05.420642+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:36:07.750319
License: Public Domain

Murphy, J.
(dissenting). I would affirm the judgment of the trial court, because I believe that the trial court was not prohibited from altering its *84verdict following the bench trial, but before the entry of judgment. I therefore dissent.
Courts speak through judgments and orders and not through oral statements. People v Stackpoole, 144 Mich App 291, 298; 375 NW2d 419 (1985). Although the trial court stated its intention to enter an order of judgment convicting defendant of manslaughter, it never did so. Instead, after further evaluation, the trial court acquitted defendant of this charge. I therefore decline to treat the trial court’s earlier oral statement as the entry of a judgment of conviction.
Before the entry of judgment in a criminal case, a trial court may modify any order it concludes was erroneous. MCR 6.435(B) provides, in pertinent part:
Substantive Mistakes. After giving the parties an opportunity to be heard, and provided it has not yet entered judgment in the case, the court may reconsider and modify, correct, or rescind any order it concludes was erroneous.
The majority concludes that the trial court’s authority under this rule is limited to "substantive mistakes,” because that term is defined in the staff comments to the court rule, which are reproduced in Michigan Court Rules Practice, Rules 6.000 to 6.999, (1993 Interim Pamphlet), p 394. Unlike the majority, I would not construe the term "substantive mistakes” to limit the application of this rule, because the term appears to merely be a "catch line” to the rule and, therefore, may not be used to construe the rule more narrowly than the text of the rule indicates. MCR 1.106. I also do not accept the definition of this term provided in the staff comments as determinative.
In addition, the trial court’s actions were essen*85tially those permitted by MCR 6.431(C), which states:
Trial Without Jury. If the court tried the case without a jury, it may, on granting a new trial and with the defendant’s consent, vacate any judgment it has entered, take additional testimony, amend its findings of fact and conclusions of law, and order the entry of a new judgment.
Although the trial court in this case did not specifically grant defendant a new trial, the trial court’s actions of amending its findings of fact and conclusions of law are allowed by this rule. Even if the trial court had previously entered a judgment convicting defendant, it had authority under MCR 6.431 to grant defendant a new trial, vacate the judgment, and order the entry of a new judgment. The trial court was further entitled to order a new trial if it believed that the verdict resulted in a miscarriage of justice. MCR 6.431(B); In re Dana Jenkins, 438 Mich 364, 372-373; 475 NW2d 279 (1991).
I further believe that the concerns discussed by the majority regarding altering a jury verdict after it is announced do not exist when the trial court is the finder of fact. Far from violating double jeopardy protections, as the majority opinion suggests, a trial court’s recision of a judgment and entry of a new judgment after a bench trial are actions authorized by court rule.
In addition, while not relevant to the discussion of the trial court’s authority to alter its verdict, I note that the record does not support the prosecution’s contention that the trial court’s action was the result of ex parte communications with defense counsel.
I would therefore affirm.