Opinion ID: 1992452
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: interpretation of mcl 780.131 et seq.; msa 28.969(1) et seq.

Text: In Woodruff, supra at 137, this Court held that the 180-day rule applied to any untried charge against an inmate even if the offense was committed in prison or carried a mandatory consecutive sentence. The Court applied a statutory rule of construction that requires penal statutes to be strictly construed, People v Goulding, 275 Mich 353; 266 NW 378 (1936); Gay v Webster, 277 Mich 255, 259; 269 NW 164 (1936), especially when such an interpretation will be beneficial to the defendant. People v Lockhart, 242 Mich 491; 219 NW 724 (1928). The majority here states that a more liberal interpretation of the 180-day rule is warranted because of a legislative amendment that occurred over six and one-half years after our decision in Woodruff. On the basis of this amendment, the majority would overturn Woodruff and find that the statute does not apply to the defendant even though her plea and conviction occurred over one year before the amendment to the statute became effective. However, under the rules of statutory interpretation and the doctrine of stare decisis, the majority's reasoning is unpersuasive. [1] The majority's use of the subsequent statutory amendment of the 180-day rule to overrule Woodruff can be attacked on a number of grounds. One rule of statutory construction requires that when a statute is clear and unambiguous, an amendment that materially changes the statute is presumed to indicate a change in existing legal rights. 1A Sands, Sutherland Statutory Construction (4th ed), § 22.30, p 265. The author of the lead opinion has also previously applied this rule. See Sam v Balardo, 411 Mich 405, 445; 308 NW2d 142 (1981) (LEVIN, J., dissenting). Even if we were to be influenced by a subsequent Legislature's amendment of our decision in Woodruff, the Legislature, in fact, let that decision stand for over six and one-half years before changing the statute and did not even mention Woodruff in doing so. Instead, the lapse in time simply indicates that the Legislature felt that the statute should be amended for reasons other than our decision in Woodruff. [2] The amendment, therefore, results in a change of existing legal rights and the Court should refrain from using the amendment to interpret the preexisting statute. Instead, the Court should simply apply the plain and unambiguous language of the statute, as noted in Woodruff, 414 Mich 135-136, to the present case. The majority also, by applying the language of the new statute, in effect applies this penal statute retroactively when the Legislature has not deemed it necessary to do so. Not only does this contravene the rule that amendments to statutes are generally inapplicable when transactions and events are completed prior to their enactment, 1A Sands, Sutherland Statutory Construction, supra, § 22.36, pp 300-301, but it also attempts to apply a statute retroactively without undertaking an analysis of whether that statute should be so applied. See People v Hampton, 384 Mich 669; 187 NW2d 404 (1971). The amendments here should not be applied retroactively. Their purpose was to change the law, not to clarify what the statute meant. The Legislature did not deem it appropriate to apply the amendments retroactively, and this Court should not attempt to legislate such a change by its opinion. The doctrine of stare decisis also requires this Court to uphold Woodruff. This doctrine exists to promote uniformity, certainty, and stability in the law, Parker v Port Huron Hosp, 361 Mich 1, 10; 105 NW2d 1 (1960), and when a court of competent jurisdiction decides a case, that decision becomes precedent which should not be lightly overturned. People v Jamieson, 436 Mich 61, 79; 461 NW2d 884 (1990). Under the doctrine of stare decisis, the Court must, before overruling a prior decision, be convinced that the decision was wrong and that less injury will result from the overturning decision. McEvoy v Sault Ste Marie, 136 Mich 172; 98 NW 1006 (1904). However, in overturning Woodruff, the majority has not advanced any arguments that it was incorrectly decided. If the lead opinion stands, adherence to precedent will be further eroded without a corresponding benefit to the administration of justice. Finally, neither the parties nor any of the lower courts discussed, argued, or questioned whether MCL 780.131-780.133; MSA 28.969(1)-28.969(3) applied to the defendant. This issue is simply not properly before the Court. MCR 7.302(F)(4)(a). For these reasons, I would adhere to the decision in People v Woodruff , and hold that it applies to this defendant because the amendments of the 180-day rule were not effective until after her plea to the underlying charges. Because I find that the statute still applies, a determination must also be made regarding whether the defendant's constitutional and statutory rights were waived by her unconditional guilty plea.