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People v. Dhondt

Supreme Court of Michigan.
Oct 3, 2014
853 N.W.2d 706 (Mich. 2014)

Opinion

Docket No. 149123. COA No. 321026.

10-03-2014

PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. William Michael DHONDT, Defendant–Appellee.


Order

On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the March 27, 2014 order of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because the question presented is moot.

ZAHRA, J. (concurring).

I concur with the Court's decision to deny leave to appeal because the issue is moot. I write separately to address the trial court's erroneous interpretation of MCL 780.761. At trial, the victim testified and was cross-examined in the prosecution's case-in-chief. Following that testimony, the trial court ordered that he still be subject to sequestration. This was an error, however, because MCL 780.761 provides, in relevant part: “If the victim is going to be called as a witness, the court may, for good cause shown, order the victim to be sequestered until the victim first testifies. The victim shall not be sequestered after he or she first testifies. ” (Emphasis added.) Under the plain language of this statute, a victim can no longer be sequestered, regardless of whether the victim might potentially be called to testify a second time, once the victim first testifies. In this case, the victim first testified in the prosecution's case-in-chief, at which point his sequestration should have ended. Accordingly, the trial court's order to continue the victim's sequestration was contrary to MCL 780.761.


Summaries of

People v. Dhondt

Supreme Court of Michigan.
Oct 3, 2014
853 N.W.2d 706 (Mich. 2014)
Case details for

People v. Dhondt

Case Details

Full title:PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. William Michael…

Court:Supreme Court of Michigan.

Date published: Oct 3, 2014

Citations

853 N.W.2d 706 (Mich. 2014)
497 Mich. 874