Opinion ID: 2189786
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Code of Criminal Procedure

Text: The purpose of the Code of Criminal Procedure is to codify the laws relating to criminal procedure. Preamble, MCL 760.1 et seq.; MSA 28.841 et seq. The Code of Criminal Procedure has its own definitional section: As used in this act:    (g) Felony means a violation of a penal law of this state for which the offender, upon conviction, may be punished by death or by imprisonment for more than 1 year, or an offense expressly designated by law to be a felony. (h) Misdemeanor means a violation of a penal law of this state which is not a felony, or a violation of an order, rule, or regulation of a state agency that is punishable by imprisonment or by a fine that is not a civil fine. [MCL 761.1; MSA 28.843. Emphasis added.] An offense labeled a two-year misdemeanor under the Penal Code falls within the definition of felony under the Code of Criminal Procedure. The designation of an offense as a felony for the purposes of the Code of Criminal Procedure has particular consequences. Those convicted of felonies face the possibility of serving longer sentences under at least three provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The habitual offender statute, for example, provides that one's sentence may be enhanced in various prescribed ways where a person has been convicted of a felony, an attempt to commit a felony, or both, whether the conviction occurred in this state or would have been for a felony in this state if the conviction obtained outside this state had been obtained in this state, and that person commits a subsequent felony within this state.... [MCL 769.10; MSA 28.1082.] Similar provisions allow further enhancement where one has previously been convicted of two, three, or more felonies. MCL 769.11, 769.12; MSA 28.1083, 28.1084. The probation statute provides: If the defendant is convicted for an offense which is not a felony the period of probation shall not exceed 2 years. If the defendant is convicted of a felony which is not a major controlled substance offense, the period of probation shall not exceed 5 years. [MCL 771.2; MSA 28.1132.] The consecutive sentencing statute provides: When a person, who has been charged with a felony and pending the disposition of the charge, commits a subsequent offense which is a felony, upon conviction of the subsequent offense or acceptance of a plea of guilty, guilty but mentally ill, or nolo contendere for the subsequent offense, the following shall apply: (a) The sentences imposed for conviction of the prior charged offense and a subsequent offense, other than a major controlled substance offense, may run consecutively. [MCL 768.7b; MSA 28.1030(2).]