Opinion ID: 2982568
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: State Appellate Process

Text: On direct appeal, Galvan argued that (1) his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request a separate trial from his codefendants, failing to conduct a pretrial investigation, and failing to file certain pretrial motions; (2) his convictions for felony murder and second-degree murder violated the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Michigan and United States Constitutions; (3) his convictions for felony murder and the predicate felony of home invasion violated the -2- Case No. 13-1695 Galvan v. Prelesnik Double Jeopardy Clause of the Michigan and United States Constitutions; and (4) his sentence was misscored under the state guidelines. Id. at -5. The Michigan Court of Appeals agreed that Galvan’s conviction for felony murder and second-degree murder for the death of a single victim violated the Double Jeopardy Clause and that his sentence was misscored. The court rejected Galvan’s remaining claims. Id. In rejecting Galvan’s claim that his convictions for felony murder and the predicate felony of home invasion violated the Double Jeopardy Clause, the Michigan Court of Appeals stated: Convicting and sentencing a defendant for both felony murder and the predicate felony does not violate double jeopardy if each offense has an element that the other does not. Home invasion contains an element not contained in felony murder, namely, the breaking and entering of a dwelling. Felony murder contains an element not contained in home invasion, namely, the killing of a human. Accordingly, this combination of convictions does not constitute a double jeopardy violation. Id. at  (citations omitted). The Michigan Supreme Court denied Galvan’s application for leave to appeal. People v. Galvan, 796 N.W.2d 254 (Mich. 2011).