Defendant
Brandon Cain was charged in the Wayne County Circuit Court with multiple crimes
arising out of the murders of Ashley Conaway and Abreeya Brown. After the jury
was selected, but before the trial began, the judge directed the court clerk to
administer an oath to the jury. At this point in the proceedings, the jurors
must affirm that they will decide the case justly, and render a true verdict on
the evidence introduced at trial and in accord with the court’s jury
instructions. Instead of reciting the proper oath, however, the court clerk
recited the oath that is read to the potential jurors before jury selection
begins. As a result, the jurors in this case were asked to “solemnly swear or affirm that you will true answers
make to such questions as may be put to you touching upon your qualifications
to serve as jurors in the cause now pending before the Court . . . .” Neither defense counsel
nor the prosecutor objected. The trial proceeded, and the jury returned a
guilty verdict against Cain.
Cain
argued on appeal that the jury was not properly sworn. In an order, the Court
of Appeals granted Cain’s motion for peremptory reversal. The Court of Appeals
panel held that the failure to properly swear the jury was a structural error
requiring a new trial, and it remanded the case for a new trial before a
properly sworn jury.
The prosecution filed an application for leave to appeal. In an
order dated September 17, 2014, the Supreme Court granted leave to appeal and
directed the parties to address whether the Court of Appeals erred in
determining that the failure to properly swear the jury, even in the absence of
a timely objection, was a structural error requiring a new trial.