People of Michigan v. Edvin Romeo Hernandez-Tello
331436
| Mich. Ct. App. | May 9, 2017Background
- Defendant was charged with domestic assault and assaulting/obstructing a police officer after a neighbor reported seeing a man assault a woman; police found the victim, her son, and defendant at the home.
- The alleged victims did not testify at trial; portions of a police body-camera video containing Spanish-language statements were played for the jury.
- Police testified that defendant shoved an officer, tried to flee, resisted handcuffing, and was tasered.
- During rebuttal, the prosecutor remarked that "we have a Spanish speaker on the jury who can maybe delve into what was being said" on the video.
- Defense did not object at trial; defendant was convicted of domestic assault (MCL 750.81(4)) and assaulting/resisting/obstructing an officer (MCL 750.81d(1)) and sentenced as a third-offense habitual offender.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether prosecutor’s remark suggesting a bilingual juror could translate Spanish during deliberations was prosecutorial error/ misconduct | Prosecutor argued remark was a response to defense pointing out absent witnesses and was an isolated, contextual remark not warranting reversal | Defendant argued the remark improperly invited a juror to act as an interpreter, prejudicing the trial | Court held the remark was improper but isolated; no contemporaneous objection was made, a curative instruction would have cured prejudice, and defendant failed to show plain error affecting outcome; affirmed conviction |
Key Cases Cited
- People v Ackerman, 257 Mich. App. 434 (prosecutorial misconduct standard and review)
- People v Callon, 256 Mich. App. 312 (preservation requirement for prosecutorial misconduct claims)
- People v Unger, 278 Mich. App. 210 (jurors presumed to follow instructions; curative instructions cure most errors)
- People v Brown, 279 Mich. App. 116 (plain error review when issue not preserved)
- People v Carines, 460 Mich. 750 (elements of plain error test)
- People v Dobek, 274 Mich. App. 58 (prosecutor’s duty to seek justice; test for prosecutorial misconduct)
- People v Akins, 259 Mich. App. 545 (evaluate prosecutor’s remarks in context)
- People v Abraham, 256 Mich. App. 265 (presumption that jury follows instructions)
- People v Bennett, 290 Mich. App. 465 (failure to object waives review)