Court Opinion

ID: 9695010
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 18:04:07.190823+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:07.635338
License: Public Domain

Doctoroff, C.J.
(concurring.) While I agree that a remand is appropriate under the facts of this case, I write separately to make it clear that I do not believe that a defendant’s mere presentation of an affidavit asserting that a promise of leniency has been made will warrant an evidentiary hearing in every case. In this case, a review of the affidavit and the transcript of the motion to withdraw the plea indicates that defendant presented sufficient facts to warrant a full evidentiary hearing with respect to his allegations of promised leniency. Thus, I agree with the majority that the trial court did not make sufficient findings with regard to why it was denying defendant’s motion and should have conducted an evidentiary hearing to evaluate the merits of the allegations.
However, I believe that it is too broad a holding to say that a defendant who presents an affidavit alleging that his plea was given under a promise *222of leniency is automatically entitled to an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the claim has merit. Unlike the majority, I would limit the defendant’s right to an evidentiary hearing to those situations where, as here, it is clear that the defendant has presented enough proof that his plea was predicated on a promise of leniency so as to make an evidentiary hearing necessary. Given the limited judicial resources and the nature of the plea proceedings as governed by MCR 6.302, I believe that the question whether a defendant is entitled to an evidentiary hearing should be left to the sound discretion of the trial court.