PEOPLE OF MI V DANIEL JAY JENSEN
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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
UNPUBLISHED
June 25, 2009
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 283510
Montcalm Circuit Court
LC No. 07-009100-FH
DANIEL JAY JENSEN,
Defendant-Appellant.
Before: Zahra, P.J., and Whitbeck and M. J. Kelly, JJ.
M. J. KELLY, J. (concurring).
I concur with the majority opinion affirming defendant’s conviction. However, I write
separately to comment on what I believe was the clear and deliberate attempt by the prosecutor
to insert prejudicial information into the trial.
In his opening statement, the prosecutor told the jury that defendant “later consented to
Trooper Ryan’s offer of a polygraph examination regarding the case” but that the examination
was never conducted and that he made a “verbal admission” to the “polygraph operator.” Then,
after Lt. Edwards testified that his expertise was in “conducting interviews in a forensic science
capacity,” the prosecutor asked him, “How long have you been a forensic scientist assigned to do
polygraph examinations?”
The references to the polygraph were clearly inappropriate and it is plain to me that they
were made to bolster Lt. Edwards’ credibility or to suggest that defendant must be guilty
because, when faced with a polygraph examination, defendant broke down and confessed to the
examiner. Fortunately, defendant’s trial counsel made a timely objection and the trial judge
crafted a very thorough curative instruction that overcame the prejudice occasioned by these
remarks. Nevertheless, I feel compelled to write separately to emphasize that this Court does not
condone the use of such tactics; these tactics serve no useful purpose—they only taint the trial
and undermine the public’s confidence in the fairness and integrity of our criminal justice
system. And, although it did not warrant relief under the facts of this case, under different
circumstances, this sort of gamesmanship could easily have resulted in a new trial. These tactics
should not be employed in the future.
/s/ Michael J. Kelly
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