Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
October 19, 2011 Robert P. Young, Jr.,
Chief Justice
142627 & (79) Michael F. Cavanagh
Marilyn Kelly
Stephen J. Markman
Diane M. Hathaway
Mary Beth Kelly
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Brian K. Zahra,
Plaintiff-Appellee, Justices
v SC: 142627
COA: 292385
JOSEPH LASHAWN VAUGHN, Wayne CC: 02-011197-FC
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the motion for miscellaneous relief is GRANTED. The
application for leave to appeal the December 28, 2010 judgment of the Court of Appeals
is considered, and it is GRANTED, limited to the issues: (1) whether the defendant was
denied his right to a public trial pursuant to US Const, Am VI, and Const 1963, art 1, §
20, where the Wayne Circuit Court excluded persons other than jurors from the
courtroom during the jury voir dire, see Presley v Georgia, 558 US ___; 130 S Ct 721;
175 L Ed 2d 675 (2010); (2) whether the defendant, by failing to object, forfeited or
waived any error resulting from the exclusion of the public from the courtroom during the
jury voir dire, and, if so, whether trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance in failing to
object; (3) whether, if some structural errors can be forfeited, the denial of the right to a
public trial is among those forfeitable errors; and (4) whether the defendant is entitled to
a new trial as a consequence of the trial court’s exclusion of the public during the jury
voir dire.
The Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan and the Prosecuting Attorneys
Association of Michigan are invited to file briefs amicus curiae. Other persons or groups
interested in the determination of the issues presented in this case may move the Court
for permission to file briefs amicus curiae.
I, Corbin R. Davis, 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.
October 19, 2011 _________________________________________
h1012 Clerk