Validity of a guilty plea; MCR 6.302; MCR 6.402(B); Plain error review

The court concluded “that the trial court plainly erred by accepting defendant’s guilty plea to” second-degree murder but disagreed that he was “entitled to relief on this basis.” He argued “that the trial court erred by accepting his guilty plea to second-degree murder because the factual basis set forth at the plea hearing was inadequate to establish that the plea was accurate.” He contended “that the factual basis set forth at the plea hearing did not establish that a death occurred, nor did it establish who died.” Defendant did “not challenge the malice element of second-degree murder.” The court held that the “trial court erred by accepting defendant’s guilty plea to second-degree murder because the factual basis set forth at the plea hearing was inadequate to establish that the plea was accurate.” It concluded he “established both that the trial court committed error by accepting his plea, and that the error was plain, i.e., clear or obvious.” Notwithstanding the trial court’s error, he was “not entitled to relief on this basis because he has not established that the plain error affected his substantial rights.” Defendant’s argument amounted “merely to an assertion that the trial court did not strictly comply with MCR 6.402(B).” Considering he did not dispute that the victim “died as a result of defendant’s conduct, defendant has not established that he was prejudiced by the trial court’s error in accepting his plea, i.e., he has not established that the error affected the outcome of the lower court proceedings.” Further, even if he had established prejudice, he did not establish “that the error ‘resulted in the conviction of an actually innocent defendant’ or ‘seriously affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings independent of the defendant’s innocence.’” The court noted that at the hearing, he “acknowledged the charges to which he was pleading included murder in the second degree, and defendant does not argue on appeal that his conduct did not result in the victim’s death.” Thus, he did not establish “that the plain error affected his substantial rights, and is not entitled to relief on this basis.” Affirmed.