Motion for relief from judgment; Newly discovered evidence; People v Johnson

In an order in lieu of granting leave to appeal the Court of Appeals order dismissing defendant’s motion to remand and application for delayed leave to appeal, the court vacated the trial court’s order and remanded the case to the trial court for reconsideration of his motion for relief from judgment. It held that the trial court erred in not analyzing “the newly discovered evidence in terms of ‘whether a reasonable juror could find the testimony credible on retrial.’” The court directed the trial court on remand to answer this question and to “‘consider the impact of that testimony in conjunction with the evidence that would be presented on retrial’ in deciding whether to grant the motion.” It denied leave to appeal in all other respects because it was not persuaded that it should review the remaining questions presented.