Separate Juries for Sexual delinquency cases not necessarily required

In People v Breidenbach, __ Mich __ (#140153, 4/28/2011) the Supreme Court held that the sexual delinquency statute, MCL 767.61a, neither explicitly nor implicitly requires that a separate jury determine the issue of sexual delinquency apart from the primary offense.  Separate jury trials under MCL 767.61a are discretionary, not mandatory. Should a trial court, in its discretion, determine that bifurcation is necessary in order to protect a defendant’s rights or ensure a fair determination of guilt or innocence, it may empanel separate juries.

The Michigan court rules contemplate that decisions regarding joint or severed trials for related charges lie firmly within the discretion of trial courts.  MCR 6.120(B) provides:  On its own initiative, the motion of a party, or the stipulation of all parties, except as provided in [MCR 6.120(C)], the court may join offenses charged in two or more informations or indictments against a single defendant, or sever offenses charged in a single information or indictment against a single defendant, when appropriate to promote fairness to the parties and a fair determination of the defendant’s guilt or innocence of each offense.

(1) Joinder is appropriate if the offenses are related. For purposes of this rule, offenses are related if they are based on a) the same conduct or transaction, or b) a series of connected acts, or c) a series of acts constituting parts of a single scheme or plan.

(2) Other relevant factors include the timeliness of the motion, the drain on the parties’ resources, the potential for confusion or prejudice stemming from either the number of charges or the complexity or nature of the evidence, the potential for harassment, the convenience of witnesses, and the parties’ readiness for trial.

This rule provides the proper framework for courts to analyze whether separate juries are required when sexual delinquency is charged in addition to a primary sexual offense. If “a fair determination of defendant’s guilt or innocence of each offense” would require separate juries, trial courts may order separate juries either sua sponte or on the motion of one of the parties.