Court Opinion

ID: 9731112
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 15:33:56.535952+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:13.481152
License: Public Domain

M. S. Coleman, J.
(dissent). The Court has reversed defendant’s conviction for possession of heroin "because the search at the police station was in derogation of his statutory right to bail” prior to his appearance before a magistrate or the probate court. I dissent because the pertinent statute in effect at the time of the arrest did not provide such an immediate right.
At 3 a.m. on Friday, March 19, 1971, two Michigan State Police officers stopped the automobile which defendant was driving because the car was making excessive noise. When defendant produced his driver’s license, one of the officers noted that defendant had a second license. This prompted a radio check on defendant which indicated that his license had been suspended. Defendant was arrested.
At the county jail defendant was ordered to remove his sweater. In it was found several packets containing a substance thought to be heroin. Defendant was then arrested for unlawful possession of a narcotic drug. A subsequent strip search disclosed more heroin.
Defendant was initially arrested pursuant to provisions of Chapter VI of the Michigan Vehicle Code, MCLA 257.727; MSA 9.2427 which reads in part:
"Whenever any person is arrested without a warrant for any violation of this act or of a provision of any ordinance substantially corresponding to any provision of this act, punishable as a misdemeanor, the arrested person shall, without unreasonable delay, be taken before a magistrate or probate court within the county *709in which the offense charged is alleged to have been committed and who has jurisdiction of such offense and is nearest or most accessible with reference to the place where said arrest is made, in any of the following cases:
"(4) When a person arrested does not have in his immediate possession a valid operator’s or chauffeur’s license. If the arresting officer otherwise satisfactorily determines the identity of such person and the practicability of subsequent apprehension in the event of failure to voluntarily appear before a designated magistrate or probate court as directed, the officer may release such person from custody with instructions to appear in court, given in writing as prescribed by section 728.” (Emphasis added.)
The Court has cited MCLA 780.581; MSA 28.872(1)1 as affording an individual the right to immediate bail when arrested without a warrant for a misdemeanor. However, at the time of this arrest on March 19, 1971, MCLA 780.587; MSA 28.872(7) provided that the cited section "shall not affect” the provisions of MCLA 257.727 quoted above. (Emphasis added.)
Under the law as it was at the time of this arrest, a defendant did not have a statutory right *710to immediate bail in the absence of a magistrate or probate judge at 3 a.m. He did have a right to he brought before a magistrate or probate judge "without unreasonable delay”. In the interim, bail was available only at the discretion of the arresting officer. There is no legal reason to reverse the decision in this case.
The decision of the Court of Appeals should be affirmed.
J. W. Fitzgerald, J., concurred with M. S. Coleman, J.

 At the time of Dixon’s arrest, March 19, 1971, the then effective § 1 of the interim bail statute provided:
"When any person is arrested without a warrant for any offense, violation of a city, village or township ordinance cognizable by a justice of the peace or a municipal judge, the officer making the arrest shall take, without unnecessary delay, the person arrested before the most convenient magistrate of the county in which the offense was committed to answer to the complaint made against him.
"If no magistrate is available or immediate trial cannot be had, the person so arrested may recognize to the direct supervisor of the arresting officer or department for his appearance by leaving with him a sum of money not to exceed $100.00. If, in ihe opinion of the arresting officer or department, the arrested person is under the influence of liquor or narcotic drug, is wanted by police authorities to answer to another charge, or it is otherwise unsafe to release him, the arrested person shall be held until he is in a proper condition to be released, or until the next session of court.” 1961 PA 44, § 1.