PEOPLE OF MI V DEBORAH C BEAMON
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
September 23, 1997
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 190612
Oakland Circuit Court
LC No. 94-136637
DEBORAH C. BEAMON,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Michael J. Kelly, P.J., and Wahls, and Gage, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
Defendant appeals as of right from her jury trial conviction of second-degree murder, MCL
750.317; MSA 28.549. Defendant was sentenced to twenty to forty years’ imprisonment for her
second-degree murder conviction. However, the trial court vacated that sentence and sentenced
defendant to the same term as a third habitual offender, MCL 769.11; MSA 28.1083. We affirm.
Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to allow defendant to
question potential jurors concerning their attitudes towards self-defense. Generally, a defendant waives
her ability to challenge the manner in which voir dire was conducted if she failed to exhaust her
preemptory challenges and expressed her satisfaction with the jury at the close of the voir dire
examination. People v Rose, 268 Mich 529, 531; 256 NW 536 (1934); People v Hubbard (After
Remand), 217 Mich App 459, 466-467; 552 NW2d 493 (1996).
Here, defendant did not exhaust all of her preemptory challenges. In addition, she expressed
her satisfaction with the impaneled jury. Contrast People v Taylor, 195 Mich App 57, 60; 489 NW2d
99 (1992) (where the defendant refused to express satisfaction with the jury impaneled and repeatedly
reminded the trial court that she felt that the voir dire prevented her from intelligently exercising her
peremptory challenges). There is nothing in the record to suggest that defense counsel’s expression of
satisfaction was a necessary part of trial strategy designed to avoid alienating prospective jurors. See
Leslie v Allen-Bradley Co, 203 Mich App 490, 493; 513 NW2d 179 (1994). Unlike the defense
counsel in Leslie, defense counsel here did not renew his objection out of the presence of the jury.
Accordingly, defendant has waived this issue for appeal. Rose, supra, pp 531-532.
-1
Defendant also argues that the prosecutor engaged in several instances of misconduct. We note
that defendant objected to only two incidents of the alleged misconduct and did not request any curative
instructions. Thus, our review of the other incidents is precluded unless the conduct was so egregious
that no curative instruction could have removed any prejudice to defendant, or if manifest injustice
would result from our failure to review the alleged misconduct. People v Paquette, 214 Mich App
336, 341-342; 543 NW2d 342 (1995).
Defendant maintains that the prosecutor improperly injected irrelevant evidence of defendant’s
sexual and financial history. We disagree. Whether the defense witnesses or their relatives were
intimately involved with defendant and whether they were providing financial support to defendant were
relevant factors for the jury to consider in weighing the credibility of the witnesses and in determining
whether the witnesses were biased. However, the prosecutor’s questions directed to defendant
regarding the money she received from other men were irrelevant to any issue in the case. MRE 401.
Likewise, it was improper for the prosecutor to force the defense investigator to assert the attorney
client privilege in front of the jury. People v Paasche, 207 Mich App 698, 712; 525 NW2d 914
(1994). Nonetheless, given defendant’s numerous admissions that she stabbed the decedent, these
errors were harmless. People v Mateo, 453 Mich 203, 215; 551 NW2d 891 (1996).
Finally, considering the prosecutor’s closing argument in its entirety, we conclude that the
prosecutor properly argued the evidence and all reasonable inferences from the evidence as it related to
the prosecution’s theory of the case. No manifest injustice would result from our failure to further
review this unpreserved issue. People v Bahoda, 448 Mich 261, 282, 285; 531 NW2d 659 (1995);
Paquette, supra, pp 341-342.
Affirmed.
/s/ Michael J. Kelly
/s/ Myron H. Wahls
/s/ Hilda R. Gage
-2
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.