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No. 137666
| People of the State of Michigan, |
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Charles F. Justian |
Plaintiff-Appellee, |
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(Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
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(Muskegon - Graves, J.) |
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| Earnest Lamont Warren, |
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Desiree M. Ferguson |
Defendant-Appellant. |
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| __________________________________________ |
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Plaintiff-Appellee's Brief in Opposition to Application for Leave to Appeal>>
Plaintiff-Appellee's Supplemental Brief>>
Defendant-Appellant's Application for Leave to Appeal>>
Defendant-Appellant's Supplemental Brief>>
Background
The complainant accused Earnest Warren of physically and sexually assaulting her. Following a bench trial, Warren was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and assault with intent to commit great bodily harm. The criminal sexual conduct conviction carried a maximum penalty of life or any term of years; because Warren was a fourth-habitual offender, the same was true for the assault conviction. At sentencing, a trial judge is to consider the pre-sentence investigation report and the minimum sentencing guidelines range, and impose a sentence that includes both a minimum term and the statutory maximum term. MCL 771.14 only requires the presentence investigation report to include guidelines scoring for the highest crime class. But MCL 777.21, which governs the calculation of the minimum sentencing guidelines, states that, if the defendant was “convicted of multiple offenses,” subject to an exception that does not apply here, the trial court shall “score each offense as provided in this part.” In this case, at sentencing, neither Warren nor defense counsel objected to the pre-sentence investigation report or the calculated minimum sentence guidelines range. The guidelines range was calculated only with respect to the highest class felony, the criminal sexual conduct conviction, and was determined to be 225 to 750 months (18.75 to 62.5 years). Warren was sentenced as a fourth habitual offender to 20 to 75 years for the assault conviction and to 30 to 75 years for the criminal sexual conduct conviction. Warren appealed by right to the Court of Appeals objecting, among other things, that no guidelines range was calculated for the assault conviction. The Court of Appeals affirmed his convictions and sentences in an unpublished opinion. Warren appeals.
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