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No. 120630
| The
People of the |
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Timothy
A. Baughman (313) 833-2888 |
| State of Michigan, |
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Deborah K. Blair |
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Plaintiff-Appellant,
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| vs (Appeal
from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Wayne
-- Cox, J.)
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| Richard Mendoza, |
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Linda D. Ashford (313) 237-6316 |
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Defendant-Appellee.
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiff-Appellant's Brief on Appeal>>
Defendant-Appellee's Brief on Appeal>>
Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan Amicus
Curiae Brief>>
Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan Amicus
Curiae Brief>>
Background
Richard Mendoza was arrested and charged for his part in the shooting
death of a marijuana dealer named William Stockdale. Ivan Tims, another
man charged in the shooting, was tried separately. Tims and Mendoza
allegedly came to Stockdale in order to buy marijuana. Mendoza claimed
that Tims was the one who shot Stockdale. Mendoza also wanted to present
an alternative theory. Mendoza claimed that, after he entered the house
where Stockdale was, he heard tussling and turned to see the Stockdale
and Tims struggling over a gun. As the two fought, Mendoza asserted,
he heard shots and then watched as Stockdale's nephew produced a silver
revolver, which he pointed toward both Tims and Stockdale. According
to Mendoza, as he attempted to knock the revolver away, Stockdale's
nephew pulled the trigger, shooting Stockdale. Based on this theory,
Mendoza asked the trial court to instruct the jury on the lesser offense
of involuntary manslaughter. Wayne County Circuit Judge Sean F. Cox
refused to give the instruction, indicating that he did not think that
the record supported such an instruction. The jury convicted Mendoza
of second-degree murder. The Court of Appeals reversed Mendoza's conviction
in an unpublished per curiam opinion. The trial court erred when it
refused to instruct on involuntary manslaughter because Mendoza's account,
"if believed by the jury, could support a finding that the victim's
killing was an unintended death, without malice, and not caused by any
action of defendant naturally tending to cause death," the Court
of Appeals said. The prosecution appeals.
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