People v. Stanley Duncan; People v. Vita Duncan

Summary

The Michigan Supreme Court held that a four-year-old witness who was unable, because of youth-related emotional distress, to testify at trial suffered from a then-existing mental infirmity and was unavailable under MRE 804(a)(4). The trial court therefore abused its discretion by refusing to treat the witness as unavailable, although the Court did not decide whether her preliminary-examination testimony was admissible under MRE 804(b)(1) or consistent with the Confrontation Clause. Justice Markman concurred on a different ground, Justice McCormack concurred to emphasize children’s distinct characteristics, and Justice Cavanagh dissented, advocating more rigorous efforts before declaring a child unavailable.