People of Michigan v. Ricky Theodore Stricklin
322 Mich. App. 533
| Mich. Ct. App. | 2018Background
- Defendant Ricky Stricklin was convicted after a bench trial of third-offense domestic violence (MCL 750.81(4)) and third-offense witness intimidation (MCL 750.122(7)(b)); he does not contest the convictions.
- Domestic-violence conviction arose from repeatedly punching his girlfriend; witness intimidation arose from a recorded jail call telling the victim not to attend court.
- It was undisputed that Stricklin had two prior domestic-violence convictions and sufficient prior felonies to be sentenced as a fourth-offense habitual offender under MCL 769.12.
- At sentencing Stricklin argued the habitual-offender statute should be applied to the underlying first-offense domestic-violence penalty (a 93-day misdemeanor), limiting enhancement to a 15-year maximum, and that the witness-intimidation sentence should be tied to that misdemeanor level.
- The trial court treated third-offense domestic violence as a separate felony subject to habitual-offender enhancement (authorizing up to life), and sentenced accordingly; the Court of Appeals affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether a third-offense domestic-violence conviction, which elevates a misdemeanor to a felony, may be further enhanced under the habitual-offender statute | Prosecution: the elevated third-offense domestic-violence felony is a substantive offense and may be enhanced under MCL 769.12 | Stricklin: the “first conviction” for habitual-offender purposes should be the base misdemeanor (93 days), so habitual enhancement is limited to 15 years | Court affirmed: the third-offense statute creates a separate felony punishable up to 5 years, so MCL 769.12 applies and authorizes enhancement under subsection (1)(b) (life possible) |
| Whether the witness-intimidation sentence must be based on the penalty for first-offense domestic violence (misdemeanor) or on the elevated, habitually-enhanced felony | Prosecution: witness intimidation punishment level depends on the severity of the underlying criminal case; here the underlying is the habitually-enhanced third-offense domestic-violence felony | Stricklin: underlying offense is first-offense domestic violence (misdemeanor), so witness-intimidation should carry the lower range | Court affirmed: witness intimidation may be sentenced under subsection (7)(b) because it was committed in a criminal case punishable by more than 10 years (the habitually-enhanced underlying felony) |
Key Cases Cited
- People v. Flick, 487 Mich. 1 (statutory interpretation reviewed de novo)
- People v. Pasha, 466 Mich. 378 (plain-language statutory construction principles)
- People v. Fetterley, 229 Mich. App. 511 (statutory schemes that elevate offenses create substantive crimes subject to habitual enhancement)
- People v. Bewersdorf, 438 Mich. 55 (Legislature can exclude offenses from habitual-enhancer; courts inquire to statutory text)
- People v. Allen, 499 Mich. 307 (statutory-scheme elevation permits habitual-offender enhancement; cited domestic-violence scheme as analogous)