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No. 126514
| The People of the State of Michigan, |
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William J. Vailliencourt, Jr. |
Plaintiff-Appellee, |
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vs (
Livingston - Burress, D) |
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| Mark David Sessions, |
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James D. A. Buttrey |
Defendant-Appellant. |
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Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiff-Appellee's Brief in Opposition>>
Defendant-Appellant's Application for Leave to Appeal>>
Defendant-Appellant's Supplemental Brief>>
Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Background
In 1993, defendant Mark Sessions pled guilty to three charges of breaking and entering. He was sentenced to three years of probation. One condition of probation was that Sessions not violate any laws. In 1995, Sessions pled guilty to violating this term of his probation, but the court continued his probation. He was discharged from probation on April 23, 1996, as originally scheduled. The probation officer who prepared the petition for discharge wrote that Sessions had complied with the terms and conditions of his probation, and the circuit court judge signed an order confirming that Sessions was discharged from probation. On February 9, 2003, while responding to a domestic-violence complaint from Sessions' wife, police observed that Sessions owned a single-shot shotgun. Sessions was charged with one count of domestic violence, MCL 750.81(2), and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, MCL 750.224f. Generally, under MCL 750.224f, a person convicted of a felony and sentenced to probation may not possess or use a firearm until three years after the term of probation expires. Sessions moved to dismiss the firearm charge on the ground that he had been discharged from probation more than three years before February 9, 2003. The prosecutor argued that Sessions did not satisfy MCL 750.224f's requirement that a defendant have "successfully completed all conditions" of probation, since Sessions had violated one of the terms of his probation before he was discharged. The district court did not agree with the prosecutor's argument, and dismissed the firearm charge. The circuit court affirmed the district court's ruling. In a published opinion, the Court of Appeals reversed the lower courts, and remanded for further proceedings. Sessions seeks leave to appeal to the Supreme Court.
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