A Michigan appellate court has overturned an involuntary manslaughter conviction because a judge forgot to include the words "not guilty" on the verdict form used by the jury.
"The verdict form was defective, requiring reversal, because it did not give the jury the opportunity to return a general verdict of not guilty," the three-judge panel wrote in its opinion on Tuesday. "[B]ecause of the way the verdict form was set up, the jury was not given the opportunity to find defendant either generally not guilty or not guilty of the lesser-included offenses in violation of his constitutional right to a trial by jury."
The case involved Michael Jess Wade, a security guard who was convicted in 2007 of fatally shooting a suspected thief at a Detroit Police Department impound yard. He received a three-to-15-year sentence, but will receive a new trial as a result of the mistake made by Wayne County Circuit Judge Annette Berry.
Berry's staff said that the judge could not comment on cases before her.
According to the Michigan Court of Appeals, Berry properly instructed jurors to issue a guilty or not-guilty verdict on the first-degree murder charge, but erred when she failed to include not guilty as a choice for the lesser offenses of second degree murder or involuntary manslaughter.
Wade's appellate attorney, Kevin Gentry of the Gentry Law Office in Whitmore Lake, Mich., believes it was an honest mistake.
"I have no reason to believe otherwise," Gentry said. "I can't imagine that any judge would intentionally think that a form that's been banned by the Michigan Supreme Court would pass muster."
According to Gentry, Berry attempted to create her own, non-standard verdict form instead of relying on the traditional one used in the criminal courts and sanctioned by the state Supreme Court. He noted that during his client's trial, the jury foreman did express some confusion over the verdict form.
"The jury foreman actually got up and had some confusion. He was stuttering about ... and before he could get a question out, the judge said, 'Just tell me which box you checked,' " Gentry said. "And then the judge accepted that as a verdict."
Gentry said that during jury deliberations, the prosecution and defense also expressed concern about the verdict form, and asked the judge to issue a new one. But she said no, he said.
"This was caught by both sides," Gentry said.
Officials at the Wayne County Prosecutor's office were unavailable for comment.
According to Gentry, Wade can't be tried a second time for first or second degree murder because his original jury's verdict eliminated all but the involuntary manslaughter and firearms charges. Meanwhile, he will seek bond for Wade's release while awaiting a new trial.
The Wayne County Prosecutor's office declined comment.
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