In another follow-up to People v. Lockridge, the Michigan Court of Appeals held that only facts admitted by the defendant to the court in a plea, in testimony, by stipulation, or in some other similar situation, or facts found by a jury, may be used to increase a defendant’s sentence. In People v. Garnes, No. 324035, the trial court relied on facts defendant admitted to a police officer, but not admitted by the defendant in court, to impose a mandatory minimum sentence. The Court of Appeals reversed the decision and remanded for resentencing, because the defendant’s statements, although admitted through the testimony of the police officer in court, were not “admitted by the defendant” to satisfy the requirements of Lockridge. Judge Sawyer wrote separately, concurring only in the result of the Court of Appeal’s opinion.
Blogs
