Opinion
SC: 160318 COA: 342193
09-25-2020
PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Scott Richard JUREWICZ, Defendant-Appellant.
Order
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the August 6, 2019 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we VACATE the judgment of the Court of Appeals and we REMAND this case to that court for reconsideration of the defendant's ineffective assistance of counsel claim under the correct standard. The Court of Appeals erred in holding that " ‘[t]he failure to call witnesses only constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel if it deprives the defendant of a substantial defense.’ " People v. Jurewicz , 329 Mich. App. 377, 382, 942 N.W.2d 116 (2019), quoting People v. Russell , 297 Mich. App. 707, 716, 825 N.W.2d 623 (2012). The defendant was not required to show, in order to obtain relief for ineffective assistance of counsel, that trial counsel's failure to call witnesses deprived him of a substantial defense. Rather, a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel premised on the failure to call witnesses is analyzed under the same standard as all other claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, i.e., a defendant must show that "(1) counsel's performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and (2) but for counsel's deficient performance, there is a reasonable probability that the outcome would have been different." People v. Trakhtenberg , 493 Mich. 38, 51, 826 N.W.2d 136 (2012) ; see also Strickland v. Washington , 466 U.S. 668, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984). On remand, the Court of Appeals should resolve the defendant's claim of ineffective assistance of counsel under this standard.