People v. Jackson
| Decision Date | 24 January 1978 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 28698 |
| Citation | 81 Mich.App. 18,264 N.W.2d 101 |
| Parties | PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Theron Duain JACKSON, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
Robert Mann, Detroit, for defendant-appellant.
Frank J. Kelley, Atty. Gen., Robert A. Derengoski, Sol. Gen., William L. Cahalan, Pros. Atty., Edward R. Wilson, Appellate Chief, Asst. Pros. Atty., Robert Monk, Asst. Pros. Atty., for plaintiff-appellee.
Before CAVANAGH, P. J., and J. H. GILLIS and RILEY, JJ.
Charged originally with a single count of assault with intent to murder, M.C.L.A. § 750.83; M.S.A. § 28.278, defendant appeals his conviction, following a bench trial, of felonious assault, M.C.L.A. § 750.82; M.S.A. § 28.277.
He raises a single issue: whether the trial judge erred reversibly in rendering a general guilty verdict rather than finding the facts specially and separately stating his conclusions of law.
The record clearly establishes by defendant's admission that he stabbed the complainant in the shoulder with a knife during an altercation that arose out of an automobile accident. Defendant rear-ended the car driven by complainant when complainant stopped suddenly at a red light. Although defendant claimed to have acted in self-defense, he admitted that he exited his car with a hunting knife in hand and that neither the complainant nor his companion were armed when they emerged from their car. The testimony by the prosecution's witnesses indicates that defendant was the unprovoked aggressor.
The only issues for the trial judge to determine were whether the defendant acted in self-defense and whether he assaulted complainant with an intent to murder. These decisions rested on the credibility of the defendant as compared to that of the complainant, his companion, an off-duty police officer who disarmed the parties and broke up the fight and two officers who responded to the scene. Clearly, a reading of the record discloses the paths that the trial judge followed in reaching his verdict, namely, that defendant did not act in self-defense and that he lacked the mens rea necessary for assault with intent to murder.
The most recent Supreme Court decision on the applicability of GCR 1963, 517.1 to criminal bench trials, People v. Jackson, 390 Mich. 621, 627, 212 N.W.2d 918, 921 (1973), serves to clarify a previously confused rule:
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...otherwise absolute duty which devolves upon the trial court under GCR 1963, 517.1. In addition, the people cite People v. Theron Jackson, 81 Mich.App. 18, 264 N.W.2d 101 (1978), in support of their position, claiming that the circumstances in that case are analogous to those in the case sub......
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People v. Davis
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