People of Michigan v. Ramon Lee Bryant

Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
May 18, 2011 Robert P. Young, Jr.,
Chief Justice
141741 Michael F. Cavanagh
Marilyn Kelly
Stephen J. Markman
Diane M. Hathaway
Mary Beth Kelly
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Brian K. Zahra,
Plaintiff-Appellant, Justices
v SC: 141741
COA: 280073
Kent CC: 01-008625-FC
RAMON LEE BRYANT,
Defendant-Appellee.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the July 20, 2010
judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is GRANTED. The parties shall
include among the issues to be briefed: (1) whether, in evaluating whether a distinctive
group has been sufficiently underrepresented under Duren v Missouri, 439 US 357; 99 S
Ct 664; 58 L Ed 2d 579 (1979), so as to violate the Sixth Amendment’s fair cross-section
requirement, courts may choose to examine only the composition of the defendant’s
particular jury venire, or whether courts must always examine the composition of broader
pools or arrays of prospective jurors; (2) whether a defendant’s claim of such
underrepresentation must always be supported by hard data, or whether statistical
estimates are permissible and, if so, under what circumstances; and (3) whether any
underrepresentation of African-Americans in the defendant’s venire, or in Kent County
jury pools between 2001 and 2002, was the result of systematic exclusion under the third
prong of Duren v Missouri, supra.The Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan and the Prosecuting Attorneys
Association of Michigan are invited to file briefs amicus curiae. Other persons or groups
interested in the determination of the issues presented in this case may move the Court
for permission to file briefs amicus curiae.
I, Corbin R. Davis, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
May 18, 2011 _________________________________________
y0511 Clerk