Opinion
Docket No. 148444. COA No. 312308.
2014-06-11
PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Richard Lee HARTWICK, Defendant–Appellant.
Prior report: 303 Mich.App. 247, 842 N.W.2d 545.
Order
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the November 19, 2013 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is GRANTED. The parties shall include among the issues to be briefed: (1) whether a defendant's entitlement to immunity under § 4 of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (MMMA), MCL 333.26421 et seq. , is a question of law for the trial court to decide; (2) whether factual disputes regarding § 4 immunity are to be resolved by the trial court; (3) if so, whether the trial court's finding of fact becomes an established fact that cannot be appealed; (4) whether a defendant's possession of a valid registry identification card establishes any presumption for purposes of § 4 or § 8; (5) if not, what is a defendant's evidentiary burden to establish immunity under § 4 or an affirmative defense under § 8; (6) what role, if any, do the verification and confidentiality provisions in § 6 of the act play in establishing entitlement to immunity under § 4 or an affirmative defense under § 8; and (7) whether the Court of Appeals erred in characterizing a qualifying patient's physician as issuing a prescription for, or prescribing, marijuana.
We direct the Clerk to schedule the oral argument in this case for the same future session of this Court when it will hear oral argument in People v. Tuttle (Docket No. 148971).
Persons or groups interested in the determination of the issues presented in this case may move the Court for permission to file briefs amicus curiae.