Opinion
SC: 161746 COA: 352449
05-26-2021
PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Geoffrey Lavar LAWSON, Defendant-Appellant.
Order
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the May 6, 2020 order of the Court of Appeals is considered. We DIRECT the Genesee County Prosecuting Attorney to answer the application for leave to appeal within 28 days after the date of this order. In particular, the prosecuting attorney shall address: (1) whether the presumption of prejudice to a defendant from a substantive communication with a jury outside the presence of defense counsel applies when such a claim is brought in a motion for relief from judgment, compare People v. France , 436 Mich. 138, 143, 461 N.W.2d 621 (1990), with MCR 6.508(D)(3)(b) ; and (2) if such a presumption applies here, whether trial counsel's statement that he had no objection to the court providing the written jury instruction effectively rebuts that presumption or whether an evidentiary hearing must be held.
The application for leave to appeal remains pending.