262 Mich. App. 267 | Mich. Ct. App. | 2004
The prosecutor charged defendant with assault with a dangerous weapon, MCL 750.82; being a felon in possession of a firearm, MCL 750.224f; and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b. After a bench trial, the trial court convicted defendant of the latter two offenses. Defendant appeals by right, arguing insufficient evidence supported his convictions. We affirm, deciding this appeal without oral argument. MCR 7.214(E).
When reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence in a bench trial, we view the evidence presented in a light most favorable to the prosecution and determine whether a rational trier of fact could find that the essential elements of the crime were proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The trier of fact may make reasonable inferences from direct or circumstantial
Generally, MCL 750.224f prohibits a person convicted of a felony
“We review questions of statutory construction de novo. In doing so, our purpose is to discern and give effect to the Legislature’s intent. We begin by examining the plain language of the statute; where that language is unambiguous, we presume that the Legislature intended the mean*270 ing clearly expressed — no farther judicial construction is required or permitted, and the statute must be enforced as written. We must give the words of a statute their plain and ordinary meaning, and only where the statutory language is ambiguous may we look outside the statute to ascertain the Legislature’s intent.” [People v Brown, 249 Mich App 382, 385; 642 NW2d 382 (2002), quoting People v Morey, 461 Mich 325, 329-330; 603 NW2d 250 (1999) (citations omitted).]
MCL 750.224f(2) provides:
A person convicted of a specified felony shall not possess, use, transport, sell, purchase, carry, ship, receive, or distribute a firearm in this state until all of the following circumstances exist:
(a) The expiration of 5 years after all of the following circumstances exist:
(i) The person has paid all fines imposed for the violation.
(ii) The person has served all terms of imprisonment imposed for the violation.
(iii) The person has successfully completed all conditions of probation or parole imposed for the violation.
(b) The person’s right to possess, use, transport, sell, purchase, carry, ship, receive, or distribute a firearm has been restored pursuant to .. . [MCL] 28.424[2 ]....
By the clear and unambiguous terms of the statute, a person convicted of a specified felony is prohibited from possessing a firearm until five years after he has paid all fines, served all terms of imprisonment, and completed all terms of probation or parole imposed for the offense. MCL 750.224f(2)(a). Moreover, after the five-year period has passed, the convicted felon is prohibited from
MCL 750.224f(6), as pertinent to the case at bar, provides:
As used in subsection (2), “specified felony” means a felony in which 1 or more of the following circumstances exist:
(i) An element of that felony is the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, or that by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense. [Emphasis added.]
The elements of larceny from a person are (1) the taking of someone else’s property without consent, (2)
In sum, the prosecution proved that defendant possessed a firearm and that he had a prior conviction of larceny from a person, a specified felony as defined by MCL 750.224f(6). In the absence of any evidence that defendant’s firearm rights had been restored, this evidence was sufficient to support defendant’s convictions
We affirm.
MCL 750.224f(5) defines “felony” as “a violation of a law of this state, or of another state, or of the United States that is punishable by imprisonment for 4 years or more, or an attempt to violate such a law.”
This statute provides the procedure by which a convicted felon may apply for restoration of firearms rights by the concealed weapons board in the county in which the convicted felon resides and the criteria that must be satisfied.
MCL 776.20 provides: “In any prosecution for the violation of any acts of the state relative to use, licensing and possession of pistols or firearms, the burden of establishing any exception, excuse, proviso or exemption contained in any such act shall be upon the defendant but this does not shift the burden of proof for the violation.”