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People v. Armendarez

Supreme Court of Michigan
May 24, 1996
549 N.W.2d 532 (Mich. 1996)

Opinion

No. 103479.

May 24, 1996.


Leave to Appeal Denied May 24, 1996:

Court of Appeals No. 149664.


I would grant leave to appeal.


I would grant leave to appeal to consider the proportionality of the sentence and the validity of the reasons for departing so significantly from the guideline sentence.

Defendant was convicted of second-degree murder, carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. He was sentenced to forty-eight to eighty-five years for the murder, and shorter sentences on the other offenses. The guidelines suggested a minimum of twelve to twenty-five years.

The jury was instructed on first- and second-degree murder, and convicted him of second. The judge apparently disagreed:

And it's a second degree conviction but, factually, it's only a split second that's needed for premeditation. I can't from the evidence, by a preponderance of the evidence, say that he planned to commit a murder back when he got the gun at Behmlanders and asked that it be loaded. But I can say that there's a preponderance of the evidence that he intended to commit a murder when he started firing that gun and that he aimed it at Mr. Goetz and pulled the trigger and shot him. But that's a difficult thing for juries to understand, that premeditation can take place in a matter of seconds. And I didn't expect that they would understand that and, apparently, they didn't because they came back with second degree murder. [Emphasis added.]

The judge thus said in effect that because the circumstances of first-degree murder were proven by a preponderance of the evidence, he should sentence the defendant as a first-degree murderer. The sentence is well outside the guidelines (twice as long).

The judge carefully put his reasons for departing from the guidelines on the record, and some of them have validity. But still other factors relied on by him — defendant's suspension from school, his drinking, and the community's respect for the victim — are not especially relevant.

The greatest weakness in the judge's sentencing criteria is the replacement of his judgment for that of the jurors on the degree of the crime, and his reliance on the personal qualities of the victim.


Summaries of

People v. Armendarez

Supreme Court of Michigan
May 24, 1996
549 N.W.2d 532 (Mich. 1996)
Case details for

People v. Armendarez

Case Details

Full title:PEOPLE v. ARMENDAREZ

Court:Supreme Court of Michigan

Date published: May 24, 1996

Citations

549 N.W.2d 532 (Mich. 1996)
549 N.W.2d 532