Chapter 2: Scoring Offense and Prior Record Variables
The minimum sentence range for an offense to which the sentencing guidelines apply is determined by scoring the appropriate prior record variables (PRVs) and offense variables (OVs) for a specific conviction. MCL 777.21. This chapter addresses the scoring of PRVs and OVs.
In 2015, the Michigan Supreme Court rendered the previously-mandatory sentencing guidelines “advisory only.” People v Lockridge, 498 Mich 358, 365, 399 (2015), aff’g in part and rev’g in part 304 Mich App 278 (2014) and overruling People v Herron, 303 Mich App 392 (2013). Although “sentencing courts [are no longer] bound by the applicable sentencing guidelines range,” they must “continue to consult the applicable guidelines range and take it into account when imposing a sentence,” and they “must justify the sentence imposed in order to facilitate appellate review.” Lockridge, 498 Mich at 392, citing People v Coles, 417 Mich 523, 549 (1983), overruled in part on other grounds by People v Milbourn, 435 Mich 630, 644 (1990).1 The Lockridge decision is discussed in detail in Section 1.4. See also the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Lockridge flowchart.