Lengthy Sentence Imposed after Plea to be Considered by Michigan Supreme Court

The Michigan Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on an application for leave to appeal filed by SADO's Anne Yantus in a plea case arising out of Kalamazoo County.  The Order directs the parties to address "what relief, if any, is available to the defendant under the following circumstances. The defendant pled guilty to second-degree home invasion as a second habitual offender and, as part of the plea proceeding pursuant to MCR 6.302(B)(2), was informed that his maximum possible sentence was 15 years, despite the fact that his maximum sentence as a second habitual offender was 22 1/2 years. At sentencing, the trial court imposed an enhanced maximum sentence of 22 1/2 years."
 
Ms. Yantus is the Manager of SADO's Special Unit on Pleas and Sentencing, and is considered an expert on Michigan Law on these subjects. 

The case is People v. Shawn Thomas Brown, Michigan Supreme Court Docket No. 143733.  It is anticipated that the Court will hear argument on the application in the Spring of 2012.