e-Journal Summary

e-Journal Number : 82218
Opinion Date : 08/29/2024
e-Journal Date : 09/12/2024
Court : Michigan Court of Appeals
Case Name : People v. Leeds
Practice Area(s) : Criminal Law
Judge(s) : Per Curiam – Borrello and Garrett; Dissent – Markey
Full PDF Opinion
Issues:

Sentencing for failure to display a valid license; Nonserious misdemeanor convictions; MCL 769.5

Summary

In these consolidated appeals, the court vacated each of defendant’s respective sentences and remanded to the district court for resentencing. He argued “that the district court abused its discretion by sentencing him to 30-day jail terms for nonserious misdemeanor convictions for failure to display a valid license without reasonable grounds for rebutting the presumption against jail or probation sentences for nonserious misdemeanors as described in MCL 769.5.” The court noted that “the district court did not explain why the sentence it imposed was more appropriate than a non-jail sentence. While the district court made note of defendant’s criminal record, and seemingly also took into consideration conduct for which [he] had not been convicted, the [district] court failed to take into consideration or to explain why a sentence of jail was more appropriate than a sentence of no jail.” This lack of explanation made it difficult for the court “to review whether the sentence was reasonable or not.”

Full PDF Opinion