Opinion ID: 848612
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: felonies and specified felonies

Text: Both questions before this Court involve issues of statutory construction. Hence, we review them de novo. People v. Kimble, 470 Mich. 305, 308-309, 684 N.W.2d 669 (2004). The first question is whether larceny from a person is a specified felony under the felon-in-possession statute. MCL 750.224f. The statute divides felonies into two types, felonies and specified felonies. A person convicted of a felony can legally possess a firearm three years after (a) completing all terms of imprisonment imposed for the violation, (b) paying all fines imposed for the violation, and (c) completing all conditions of probation or parole. MCL 750.224f(1). A person convicted of a specified felony must satisfy the same requirements and must obtain restoration of the right to possess a firearm pursuant to MCL 28.424. Also, the person must wait five years after completion of the statutory requirements, as compared to three years for other felonies. The Legislature defines specified felony in MCL 750.224f(6). It provides: As used in subsection (2), specified felony means a felony in which 1 or more of the following circumstances exist: ( i ) An element of that felony is the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, or that by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense. ( ii ) An element of that felony is the unlawful manufacture, possession, importation, exportation, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance. ( iii ) An element of that felony is the unlawful possession or distribution of a firearm. ( iv ) An element of that felony is the unlawful use of an explosive. ( v ) The felony is burglary of an occupied dwelling, or breaking and entering an occupied dwelling, or arson. [Emphasis added.] All parties agree that subsections ii through v do not apply to this case. Therefore, to constitute a specified felony, defendant's 1977 conviction of larceny from a person must fall within the definition in subsection i. The use, attempted use, and threatened use of force are not elements of larceny from a person. In fact, the absence of force and the absence of the threat of force are what distinguish larceny from a person from robbery. People v. Randolph, 466 Mich. 532, 544, 648 N.W.2d 164 (2002). But subsection i includes more crimes than just those in which force is an element. It includes crimes that, by their nature, involve a substantial risk of the use of force.