People v. Crawford

372 N.W.2d 550, 143 Mich. App. 348
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 3, 1985
DocketDocket 73588
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 372 N.W.2d 550 (People v. Crawford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Crawford, 372 N.W.2d 550, 143 Mich. App. 348 (Mich. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinions

R. J. Chrzanowski, J.

After a nonjury trial, defendant was convicted of delivery of the controlled substance phencyclidine (PCP), MCL 333.7401(2)(b); MSA 14.15(7401)(2)(b). Defendant was placed on probation for five years, the first year of which was to be served in the county jail, and he appeals as of right.

I

This case is one of 11 cases before this panel which arose out of an undercover investigation in Cheboygan County. Defendant argues that the tactics employed by the police undercover agent involved in this investigation were so reprehensible that every case arising out of this investigation should be reversed on the ground of entrapment. Alternatively, defendant argues that the circumstances which led to the delivery of which defendant was convicted show that defendant himself was entrapped.

A claim of entrapment is resolved by a trial court at a separate evidentiary hearing at which the defendant bears the burden of proving entrapment by a preponderance of the evidence. The trial judge’s decision is subject to appellate review under the "clearly erroneous” standard. People v D’Angelo, 401 Mich 167; 257 NW2d 655 (1977). As a matter of state constitutional law, Michigan follows the objective test of entrapment stated in the dissenting opinion of Justice Stewart in United States v Russell, 411 US 423, 445; 93 S Ct 1637; 36 L Ed 2d 366 (1973):

[352]*352"[Government agents may engage in conduct that is likely, when objectively considered, to afford a person ready and willing to commit the crime an opportunity to do so.
"But when the agents’ involvement in criminal activities goes beyond the mere offering of such an opportunity, and when their conduct is of a kind that could induce or instigate the commission of a crime by one not ready and willing to commit it, then — regardless of the character or propensities of the particular person induced — I think entrapment has occurred. For in that situation, the Government has engaged in the impermissible manufacturing of crime, and the federal courts should bar the prosecution in order to preserve the institutional integrity of the system of federal criminal justice.” (Citations omitted.)

See People v Turner, 390 Mich 7, 21; 210 NW2d 336 (1973), and People v D’Angelo, supra, 401 Mich 172-173, fn 4.

Defendant points to statements like the following from People v Turner, supra, 390 Mich 22:

"[T]he real concern in these cases [is] whether the actions of the police were so reprehensible under the circumstances, that the Court should refuse, as a matter of public policy, to permit a conviction to stand.”

Such statements must be examined in the context of the opinions in which they occur. In Turner, for example, the Court was rejecting a test which turned on the subjective effect of the police conduct on the defendant and was explaining its preference for a test turning on the objective nature of the police conduct at issue. Turner and similar cases should not be read as indicating that a defense of entrapment is available any time the police or the agents do something. which can be characterized as "reprehensible”. The defense of [353]*353entrapment presents a conflict between two significant state interests: the interest of the state in deterring police misconduct and the interest of the state in punishing criminals. The Turner Court resolved this conflict by striking a balance between the two conflicting interests. The balance struck is embodied in the test stated by Justice Stewart in his previously quoted dissent in Russell. Turner and subsequent cases show that the defense of entrapment is available only where the police or their agents manufactured the crime at issue by conduct likely, when objectively considered, to induce or instigate the commission of the crime by a person not ready and willing to commit it.

In People v Larcinese, 108 Mich App 511, 515; 310 NW2d 49 (1981), the Court explained that misconduct by police or their agents will not necessarily taint all similar or related transactions. Instead, the facts and circumstances of each case must be examined to determine whether a defendant was entrapped. We acknowledge that the entire course of the investigation is relevant in applying the objective test of entrapment, but reprehensible conduct by police and their agents, even where the conduct involves the same defendant, will not support a finding of entrapment unless it induced or instigated the crime at issue.

Defendant’s reliance on People v Weatherford, 129 Mich App 359, 361; 341 NW2d 119 (1983), is misplaced. Weatherford contains merely an obscure statement that the trial court did not err by applying its findings as to entrapment to both defendants, because the charges against both defendants arose out of the same impermissible conduct on the part of the police and their agent. Nothing in the opinion suggests that it is authority for the broad proposition that reprehensible police conduct will taint an entire investigation [354]*354without regard to its relation to the defendant or the crime at issue. Judicial opinions must be construed according to and in the context of the facts presented in the opinion as the basis for the decision. See Koschay v Barnett Pontiac, Inc, 386 Mich 223, 230; 191 NW2d 334 (1971). We therefore must decline defendant’s suggestion that we supplement the Weatherford opinion by reference to the trial court record in that case.

We acknowledge that there is significant evidence in this record which would support criminal charges against the undercover agent, including evidence that the agent used and distributed drugs on a substantial scale, furnished liquor to minors, educated suspected dealers in more sophisticated techniques, and persuaded suspects to try new and arguably more dangerous drugs. We further acknowledge that the record raises serious questions as to whether this investigation was organized in a way which presented reasonable safeguards against such abuses and whether the decision to employ a professional informant of this background was sound. Nevertheless, the defense of entrapment was not intended to be the remedy for any and all misconduct or neglect by police and their agents. The defense is only a remedy for conduct likely, when objectively considered, to induce or instigate the commission of the crime by a person not ready and willing to commit it.

Defendant complains that, before his contact with the undercover agent at issue, the police had no knowledge, information, or suspicion that defendant was a drug dealer. In People v Reynolds, 139 Mich App 471, 477-478; 362 NW2d 763 (1984), a case involving purchases of alcoholic liquor at various convenience stores by a minor undercover agent, this Court explained:

[355]*355"Defendants and the lower courts also relied on the failure of the investigation to focus on any particular store and the absence before the purchases at issue of any reasonable suspicion or probable cause to believe that any of the stores involved were selling alcoholic liquor to minors. Other jurisdictions have rejected a requirement of probable cause or reasonable suspicion as a prerequisite to use of undercover agents. Kadis v United States, 373 F2d 370, 373 (CA 1, 1967); United States v Catanzaro, 407 F2d 998, 1001 (CA 3, 1969);

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People v. Crawford
372 N.W.2d 550 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1985)

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Bluebook (online)
372 N.W.2d 550, 143 Mich. App. 348, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-crawford-michctapp-1985.