Court Opinion

ID: 9677726
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 05:58:12.257052+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:58.046595
License: Public Domain

D. F. Walsh, J.
(dissenting). I must dissent. The statute which provides for waiver of jury trial requires that the waiver be in writing, signed by the defendant, filed in the case and made a part of the record. It must be made in open court after the defendant has been arraigned and has had an opportunity to consult with counsel. MCL 763.3; MSA 28.856.
In this case the defendant signed a written waiver on the day set for trial. The waiver was filed in the case and made a part of the record. There is no question that the defendant had been arraigned and had had an opportunity to consult with counsel. The defendant was present in open court when the judge asked if the jury had been duly waived in writing and neither raised any objection nor made any comment when defense counsel acknowledged that defendant had signed the written waiver which had been filed with the clerk. In my judgment, this acknowledgment by defense counsel, made in the presence of the defendant, of a signed written waiver satisfied the requirement that the waiver be made in open court. See People v Carl Johnson, 99 Mich App 547; 297 NW2d 713 (1980).
I would affirm the defendant’s conviction.