PEOPLE OF MI V DUANE MICHAEL HORTON
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
October 3, 1997
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 193754
Ottawa Circuit Court
LC No. 95-019095 FH
DUANE MICHAEL HORTON,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: O’Connell, P.J., and White and C. F. Youngblood*, JJ.
MEMORANDUM.
A jury convicted defendant, as charged, of second-degree criminal sexual conduct, MCL
750.520c(1)(a); MSA 28.788(3)(1)(a). Defendant received a sentence of thirty months’ probation. 1
Defendant appeals as of right. We affirm.
Defendant argues that he was deprived of a fair trial by prosecutorial misconduct when the
prosecutor injected into the proceedings during closing argument his personal belief in defendant’s guilt.
Defendant failed to object below t the statements he now challenges as improper. Accordingly,
o
appellate review is precluded unless a curative instruction could not have eliminated the prejudicial effect
or failure to consider the issue would result in a miscarriage of justice. People v Stanaway, 446 Mich
643, 687; 521 NW2d 557 (1994). A miscarriage of justice will not result absent review. The
challenged statements, when reviewed in context, do not reflect any attempt by the prosecutor to inject
his personal belief of, or to use the prestige of his office to vouch for, defendant’s guilt. Instead, the
statements constitute proper argument that the evidence establishes defendant’s guilt beyond a
reasonable doubt. People v Erb, 48 Mich App 622, 632; 211 NW2d 51 (1973).
Affirmed.
/s/ Peter D. O’Connell
/s/ Helene N. White
/s/ Carole F. Youngblood
* Circuit judge, sitting on the Court of Appeals by assignment.
1
Subsequent to the filing of this appeal, defendant pleaded guilty to violating the terms of his probation
and was sentenced to three to fifteen years’ imprisonment.
-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.