People v. Williams

Defendant, Thomas Joseph Williams, appeals by right his conviction for first-degree murder, MCL 750.316; MSA 28.548, following a bench trial.

The first issue raised is whether the trial court committed error requiring reversal by calling a forensic center psychologist as the court’s own expert witness, pursuant to MRE 706, after ruling that the prosecution was precluded from calling that same expert witness for failure timely to file a notice of rebuttal.

The purpose of the notice requirement is to prevent surprise at trial. See, e.g., People v Terry Alexander, 82 Mich App 621, 627; 267 NW2d…