People v. Posey, 198858
| Decision Date | 23 March 1999 |
| Docket Number | No. 198858,198858 |
| Citation | 459 Mich. 960,590 N.W.2d 577 |
| Parties | People v. Johnathan Posey NO. 113209. COA |
| Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
Disposition: Application for leave to appeal is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.302(F)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we VACATE the judgment of the Court of Appeals and we REMAND the matter to the Court of Appeals for further consideration. In this case, the Court of Appeals held that the trial court's instructions were in error because they failed to differentiate between manslaughter and second-degree murder. The Court of Appeals noted that the defendant failed to object to the instructions but found reversal and a remand for new trial to be necessary in order to avoid a manifest injustice. This was so, according to the Court of Appeals, because there was evidence to support the manslaughter instruction under a theory of "imperfect self-defense". Our examination of the trial court record, however, reveals that at no time was "imperfect self-defense" ever advanced by the defendant as a defense theory. Nor was the trial court ever asked to give an instruction on "imperfect self-defense". The defendant did advance a theory of "lawful self-defense" thus, asking the jury to acquit him. It appears that the defendant's theory for reducing criminal responsibility from second-degree murder to manslaughter was that he acted in the heat of passion based on adequate provocation. Accordingly, we REMAND this case to the Court of Appeals for it to reconsider whether, in spite of the defendant's lack of objection to the trial court's instructions, a manifest injustice occurred because the defendant was entitled to a proper jury instruction on manslaughter based on a theory other than "imperfect self-defense". Our resolution of this matter should not be construed as a ruling that "imperfect self-defense" is recognized as a theory which would reduce murder to manslaughter.
We do not retain jurisdiction.
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Johnson v. Hofbauer
...first that the Michigan Supreme Court has yet to recognize the doctrine of imperfect self-defense as a defense. See People v. Posey, 459 Mich. 960, 590 N.W.2d 577 (1999). The Michigan Court of Appeals, on the other hand, has recognized imperfect self-defense as a qualified defense that can ......
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People v. Reese
...does not fall within the definition of common-law involuntary manslaughter: a lawful act negligently performed.” In People v. Posey, 459 Mich. 960, 590 N.W.2d 577 (1999), this Court acknowledged that it had not decided whether Michigan law recognizes the doctrine of imperfect self-defense b......
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