People of Michigan v. Grant Charles Balogh

• Court: Michigan Supreme Court
• Decided: March 28, 2021
• Docket: 161785
• Status: Published

Opinion

Order Michigan Supreme Court Lansing, Michigan

March 31, 2021 Bridget M. McCormack, Chief Justice

161785-6 Brian K. Zahra David F. Viviano Richard H. Bernstein Elizabeth T. Clement Megan K. Cavanagh PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Elizabeth M. Welch, Plaintiff-Appellee, Justices

v SC: 161785 COA: 343097 Wayne CC: 17-009293-AR GRANT CHARLES BALOGH, Defendant-Appellant.

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PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v SC: 161786 COA: 343098 Wayne CC: 17-009329-AR GABRIEL VICTOR BALOGH, Defendant-Appellant.

On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the April 16, 2020 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REVERSE the judgment of the Court of Appeals and we REINSTATE the October 24, 2017 orders of the 33rd District Court granting the defendants’ motions for dismissal. The 33rd District Court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence of the causation elements of the crimes charged to establish probable cause to believe that the defendants committed a felony. People v Shami, 501 Mich 243, 250-251 (2018). Even crediting the prosecution’s expert medical testimony, in light of the evidence regarding the progressive nature of the decedent’s medical condition, as well as her capacity to make her own decisions, it was within the range of principled outcomes for the district court to conclude that “a person of ordinary prudence and caution” would not entertain “a reasonable belief” that the defendants caused the decedent’s death. People v Anderson, 501 Mich 175, 178 (2018).

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. March 31, 2021 a0324 Clerk