People of Michigan v. Larry Anthony Price
331538
| Mich. Ct. App. | Jul 18, 2017Background
- Defendant Larry Anthony Price was convicted by a jury of first-degree premeditated murder, felon in possession of a firearm, assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, and felony-firearm; sentenced to life without parole plus additional concurrent and consecutive terms.
- Victim Andre Johnson was shot and killed after a brief car chase on January 29, 2015; witnesses testified that Price’s red Chrysler 300C followed the victim’s car and occupants in Price’s vehicle fired shots.
- Key eyewitness Brandon Burrell testified he saw Price in the driver’s seat (dome light on) and observed gunfire from Price’s car; detectives’ prior interviews did not mention the dome light, which was used to impeach Burrell.
- Price argued insufficiency and great-weight claims (no one positively identified him as the shooter), requested/severance and ineffective assistance for failing to seek severance, and raised multiple prosecutorial-misconduct claims.
- The Court of Appeals affirmed: it found the evidence sufficient, no reversible error in failure to sever or in counsel’s performance, and no prosecutorial misconduct requiring reversal (one instance of loud speaking found misconduct but not outcome-determinative).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency / great-weight of evidence | Prosecution: eyewitness testimony (Burrell) and circumstantial evidence sufficiently identify Price as participant/shooter | Price: verdict unsupported because no witness positively identified him as shooter; impeachment of Burrell undermines ID | Affirmed—viewing evidence in prosecution’s favor, Burrell’s ID had probative value; no plain-error reversal on great-weight claim |
| Severance / ineffective assistance for not moving to sever | Prosecution: joint trial permissible; offenses related | Price: defenses antagonistic; counsel ineffective for not seeking severance | Waived (defense counsel agreed there was no need); no ineffective assistance—defenses not mutually exclusive and motion would be meritless |
| Prosecutorial misconduct—impeachment and closing argument | Prosecution: impeaching witnesses with prior inconsistent statements and arguing reasonable inferences from evidence was proper | Price: improper hearsay impeachment, improper closing (arguing facts not in evidence) | Affirmed—use of prior inconsistent statements for impeachment and arguments based on evidence were proper; no misconduct requiring reversal |
| Prosecutorial misconduct—extraneous influences / cumulative error | Prosecution: conduct (speaking loudly) did not reach jury or influence verdict | Price: prosecutor spoke loudly during bench conferences and at counsel table, risking extraneous influence; cumulative misconduct denied fair trial | One instance of misconduct (speaking loudly) found, but no showing jury exposure or outcome-determinative effect; cumulative-error claim fails |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Cain, 238 Mich. App. 95 (1999) (preservation rules for sufficiency challenges)
- People v. Wolfe, 440 Mich. 508 (1992) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
- People v. Carines, 460 Mich. 750 (1999) (plain-error review standard)
- People v. Lemmon, 456 Mich. 625 (1998) (great-weight review and deference to jury credibility findings)
- Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (ineffective-assistance-of-counsel standard)
- People v. Hana, 447 Mich. 325 (1994) (severance standard; mutually exclusive defenses required)
- People v. Dobek, 274 Mich. App. 58 (2007) (prosecutorial-misconduct analysis; good-faith impeachment)
- People v. Budzyn, 456 Mich. 77 (1997) (extraneous influences on jury and prejudice requirement)
- People v. Blackmon, 280 Mich. App. 253 (2008) (prosecutorial misconduct must be outcome-determinative to constitute constitutional error)
- People v. Bahoda, 448 Mich. 261 (1995) (scope of permissible prosecutor argument)