Opinion ID: 831188
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: PEOPLE v. BOATMAN

Text: In Boatman, the judge informed the defendant at his plea hearing that the maximum sentence for the offense with which he was charged was two years. Defendant had already been informed that he was also being charged as an habitual offender. His maximum possible sentence was 15 years. His plea agreement was that his minimum sentence would be within the sentencing guidelines range. However, at the plea hearing, confusion arose over the applicable guidelines range, with the prosecutor referring to the enhanced range and defense counsel referring to the unenhanced range. The judge sentenced the defendant to 3 to 15 years imprisonment, which was within the enhanced range. The defendant moved to set aside his plea because, when he agreed to it, he believed his maximum sentence would be two years. When his motion was denied, he appealed to the Court of Appeals, which denied leave to appeal. This Court remanded the case to the Court of Appeals for consideration as on leave granted. [5] On remand, the Court of Appeals concluded that a trial court need not inform a defendant of the enhanced maximum sentence in order to comply with MCR 6.302(B). The court reasoned that the wording of the court rule requires only that a defendant be advised of the maximum possible sentence and any mandatory minimum sentence. However, the court conceded that the wording does not embody the rule's spirit: [T]he existence of separate guidelines for use with habitual offenders creates a tension between the specific language and implied spirit of the court rule. Clearly, an important focus of MCR 6.302 is to assure that any defendant who has entered into a sentencing agreement has made a knowing, understanding, and informed plea decision. This requires a defendant to be informed of the consequences of his or her plea and, necessarily, the resultant sentence. Unfortunately, the language of the court rule does not encompass a specific requirement to inform a habitual offender regarding the effect this status has on sentencing. This is at odds with the intent of the law, which is to assure an informed decision by a defendant in accepting or entering into a plea agreement by requiring that the most significant repercussion of that agreement, by actual duration of the sentence to be imposed, be known and understood in advance. [6] The Court of Appeals concluded that it lacked the authority to expand the scope of the rule's language. But it found that the defendant was entitled to withdraw his plea because of the confusion over the applicable guidelines. In doing so, the court explicitly stated that the defendant was not entitled to relief under the court rule. Concurring in result only, Judge SERVITTO opined that a defendant's status as an habitual offender directly affects the possible maximum sentence for the underlying offense. As a consequence, she wrote, the court rule requires a trial court to advise a defendant of the maximum possible sentence, including an habitual offender enhancement. She added that [t]o hold otherwise would undermine the goal of ensuring that guilty pleas are made voluntarily. [7] The Court of Appeals decision in Boatman was not appealed to this Court, and this Court has never addressed the proper interpretation and scope of the rule.