Deshannon Fitzgerald v. Pamela Withrow, Warden

OPINION

BOGGS, Circuit Judge.

This case requires this court to determine the scope of a defendant’s waiver of his Sixth Amendment right to a trial by jury. The State of Michigan appeals the district court’s order granting DeShannon Fitzgerald’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. After waiving his right to a jury trial, Fitzgerald was tried by the bench, was convicted of kidnaping, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. When the state court judge who took Fitzgerald’s jury trial waiver fell ill on the eve of trial, another judge of the state court was substituted to, conduct Fitzgerald’s…