People of Michigan v. Benjamin Michael Bentz

• Court: Michigan Supreme Court
• Decided: April 21, 2021
• Docket: 161796
• Status: Published

Opinion

Order Michigan Supreme Court Lansing, Michigan

April 21, 2021 Bridget M. McCormack, Chief Justice

Brian K. Zahra David F. Viviano 161796 Richard H. Bernstein Elizabeth T. Clement Megan K. Cavanagh Elizabeth M. Welch, PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Justices Plaintiff-Appellee, v SC: 161796 COA: 346529 Mason CC: 15-002928-FC BENJAMIN MICHAEL BENTZ, Defendant-Appellant.

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By order of October 27, 2020, the Attorney General was directed to answer the application for leave to appeal the May 7, 2020 judgment of the Court of Appeals. On order of the Court, the answer having been received, the application for leave to appeal is again considered. Pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REMAND this case to the Court of Appeals for consideration of the defendant’s argument that the testimony of Dr. N. Debra Simms that the complainant suffered “probable pediatric sexual abuse” requires reversal of the defendant’s convictions under the plain-error analysis of People v Carines, 460 Mich 750, 763-764 (1999), and this Court’s decision in People v Harbison, 504 Mich 230 (2019). While the Court of Appeals was correct that this issue was not before it, given that our remand to the trial court was limited to the defendant’s ineffective assistance claims, we believe it prudent for the Court of Appeals to consider this issue in the first instance.

I, Larry S. Royster, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court. April 21, 2021 s0414 Clerk