People of Michigan v. William Larenzo Shoulders

Michigan Supreme Court

People of Michigan v. William Larenzo Shoulders

DecidedApril 17, 2020

Docket159642

StatusPublished

This text of People of Michigan v. William Larenzo Shoulders (People of Michigan v. William Larenzo Shoulders) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

People of Michigan v. William Larenzo Shoulders, (Mich. 2020).

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Opinion

Order Michigan Supreme Court Lansing, Michigan

April 17, 2020 Bridget M. McCormack, Chief Justice

159642 David F. Viviano, Chief Justice Pro Tem

Stephen J. Markman Brian K. Zahra PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Richard H. Bernstein Plaintiff-Appellant, Elizabeth T. Clement Megan K. Cavanagh, Justices v SC: 159642 COA: 342408 Wayne CC: 15-003289-FH WILLIAM LARENZO SHOULDERS, Defendant-Appellee. _____________________________________/

On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the March 28, 2019 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.

MARKMAN, J. (dissenting).

I respectfully dissent because I would not deny leave to appeal but instead would remand for resentencing. Contrary to MCL 769.34(3)(a), which provides that “[t]he court shall not use an individual’s . . . race . . . to depart from the appropriate sentence range,” the trial court here expressly referenced defendant’s race in order to justify its departure sentence below the legislative guidelines. For this reason alone, resentencing is warranted. Furthermore, however, the sentence of probation imposed, in my view, constitutes an abuse of sentencing discretion in light of the intrinsic seriousness of the offense at issue-- operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death, MCL 257.625(4). That is, for this offense, the sentencing guidelines always provide for a sentence of imprisonment, even where all other offense variables (beyond Offense Variable 3, which is necessarily scored at 50 points) are scored at zero and all prior record variables are also scored at zero. See MCL 777.12f; MCL 777.33(2)(c); MCL 777.64.

I, Larry S. Royster, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court. April 17, 2020 b0414 Clerk

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Order Michigan Supreme Court Lansing, Michigan

April 17, 2020 Bridget M. McCormack, Chief Justice

159642 David F. Viviano, Chief Justice Pro Tem

Stephen J. Markman Brian K. Zahra PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Richard H. Bernstein Plaintiff-Appellant, Elizabeth T. Clement Megan K. Cavanagh, Justices v SC: 159642 COA: 342408 Wayne CC: 15-003289-FH WILLIAM LARENZO SHOULDERS, Defendant-Appellee. _____________________________________/

On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the March 28, 2019 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.

MARKMAN, J. (dissenting).

I respectfully dissent because I would not deny leave to appeal but instead would remand for resentencing. Contrary to MCL 769.34(3)(a), which provides that “[t]he court shall not use an individual’s . . . race . . . to depart from the appropriate sentence range,” the trial court here expressly referenced defendant’s race in order to justify its departure sentence below the legislative guidelines. For this reason alone, resentencing is warranted. Furthermore, however, the sentence of probation imposed, in my view, constitutes an abuse of sentencing discretion in light of the intrinsic seriousness of the offense at issue-- operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated causing death, MCL 257.625(4). That is, for this offense, the sentencing guidelines always provide for a sentence of imprisonment, even where all other offense variables (beyond Offense Variable 3, which is necessarily scored at 50 points) are scored at zero and all prior record variables are also scored at zero. See MCL 777.12f; MCL 777.33(2)(c); MCL 777.64.

I, Larry S. Royster, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court. April 17, 2020 b0414 Clerk

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People of Michigan v. William Larenzo Shoulders, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-of-michigan-v-william-larenzo-shoulders-mich-2020.