Violation of a sequestration order; People v Meconi; Unfair prejudice; MRE 403; Sufficiency of the evidence for AWIM, CCW, FIP, & discharging a firearm from a vehicle convictions; Identity

The court held that the trial court’s admission of a witness’s testimony after violation of a sequestration order “did not thwart the purpose of the sequestration order.” Further, the trial court did not err in refusing to exclude the testimony under MRE 403. Finally, the court held that the evidence of defendant-Burton’s identity was sufficient to support his convictions. He was convicted of AWIM, CCW, FIP, and discharging a firearm from a vehicle. He argued that a witness (J) violated the sequestration order by telling his girlfriend (witness-R) “about his testimony before she testified.” Defendant contended that R’s testimony “was ‘highly suspect and unreliable’ because she initially denied that [J] had told her about his testimony and admitted the truth only when confronted with the fact that her conversation with [J] had been recorded.” But the court noted that matters of witness credibility “are for the jury to determine.” It further noted that “the trial court offered counsel the opportunity to question [R] regarding the sequestration violation, but they declined. Further, [R] did not conform her testimony to [J’s] testimony, which conflicted with her testimony in many respects. Most notably, although [J] denied that he knew who the shooter was, [R] identified Burton as the shooter.” As to defendant’s MRE 403 argument, R’s “testimony was not merely marginally probative. Rather, it was highly probative of Burton’s identity as the shooter, which was the ultimate issue at trial.” As to the sufficiency of the evidence for his convictions, multiple witnesses testified that he “was involved in an altercation with [J] before he left the party.” One witness saw him “get into his vehicle alone and saw the vehicle turn around and head back toward the house. Numerous witnesses heard gunshots as Burton’s vehicle drove by the house. The window of the car was down, and [R] saw Burton ‘clear as day’ before she felt hot and saw blood on her chest. In addition, a few of the witnesses gave statements to the police, identifying Burton as the shooter by his nickname.” Affirmed.