People of Michigan v. Gary Randall Head, 333420

Defendant Gary Head was convicted by a jury of felonious assault (MCL 750.82) and misdemeanor domestic violence (MCL 750.81(2)) for striking a victim with his car; sentenced to 365 days in jail and one year probation for the felonious assault, and fined for the misdemeanor.
At trial defense counsel argued self-defense; defendant also later argued he acted to protect his family (defense of others).
The trial court orally read the standard self-defense instruction but accidentally omitted the word “not,” instructing that the defendant “must have been engaged in the commission of a crime” instead of “must not have been engaged….” A written copy of that specific instruction was not given to the jury.
Defense counsel did not object to the erroneous oral instruction and did not request a jury instruction on defense of others. No new-trial motion or Ginther hearing was sought, so issues are unpreserved and reviewed on the record.
The Court of Appeals evaluated ineffective-assistance claims (failure to object; failure to request instruction) under the two-part Strickland/Trakhtenberg standard and reviewed the record for factual support of the asserted defenses.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (People)	Defendant's Argument (Head)	Held
Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to object to an orally misstated self-defense instruction that omitted the word “not”	The omission was harmless because other parts of the instructions made clear self-defense required not acting wrongfully; defendant’s record evidence of self-defense was weak	Counsel’s failure to object was deficient and prejudiced defendant because the instruction as read undermined the legal definition of self-defense	Affirmed: counsel’s failure to object was deficient but defendant could not show prejudice; outcome would not reasonably differ
Whether counsel was ineffective for not requesting a jury instruction on defense of others	The record did not support a defense-of-others instruction and counsel reasonably pursued self-defense theory	Counsel should have requested a defense-of-others instruction because defendant claimed he acted to protect family	Affirmed: no deficient assistance — trial strategy justified and record lacked support for defense-of-others instruction

People v Trakhtenberg, 493 Mich 38 (2012) (defendant must show deficient performance and prejudice for ineffective assistance)
People v Carbin, 463 Mich 590 (2001) (defendant bears burden to establish factual predicate for ineffective-assistance claim)
People v Eisen, 296 Mich App 326 (2012) (counsel must object to plainly erroneous jury instructions)
People v Riley (After Remand), 468 Mich 135 (2003) (presumption of effective assistance; evaluation of counsel’s choices)
People v Payne, 285 Mich App 181 (2009) (preservation rule: must move for new trial or Ginther hearing to preserve ineffective-assistance claim)
People v Hawthorne, 474 Mich 174 (2006) (jury instructions for defenses permitted when supported by the evidence)
People v Wilson, 194 Mich App 599 (1992) (self-defense and defense-of-others are affirmative defenses involving intentional acts justified by circumstances)
People v LeBlanc, 465 Mich 575 (2002) (counsel’s strategic choices presumed reasonable; prejudice standard)