People v. Allen

Defendant was convicted by a jury of first-degree premeditated murder, MCL 750.316. The mandatory sentence of life imprisonment was imposed. The Court of Appeals affirmed the defendant’s conviction and sentence. We do likewise, rejecting the defendant’s claim that the trial court committed a structural constitutional error when, after instructing the jury that it must find defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, it failed to give a further instruction defining reasonable doubt. For the reasons explained below, we hold that the concept of reasonable doubt is within the common understanding…