Opinion
367881
11-06-2023
People of Michigan v. Steven Douglas Atkinson
LC No. 2022-006472-FH
Michelle M. Rick Presiding Judge Michael F. Gadola Allie Greenleaf Maldonado Judges
ORDER
The application for leave to appeal is GRANTED. The time for taking further steps in this appeal runs from the date of the Clerk's certification of this order. MCR 7.205(E)(3). This appeal is limited to the issues raised in the application and supporting brief. MCR 7.205(E)(4).
Gadola, J., would deny leave to appeal. Defendant received a minimum sentence of 34 months in prison for his conviction by guilty plea of possession of methamphetamine as a third offense habitual offender. At the time of sentencing, defendant had 16 prior felony convictions and 37 prior misdemeanor convictions. Defendant had previously served 20 jail sentences and 10 prison sentences. His minimum sentence was within the sentencing guidelines and therefore is presumed to be proportionate. People v Posey, ___ Mich. ___, ___; ___ N.W.2d ___ (2023) (Docket No. 162373); slip op at 19. The trial court also considered the facts that defendant had previously escaped from jail, had otherwise absconded, had committed parole violations, and had accumulated misconducts while serving prior prison sentences. As the trial judge noted at sentencing, this case was actually ripe for an upward departure from the sentencing guidelines, which the trial judge declined to impose. Finding no abuse of discretion in the sentence the trial court imposed, I would deny the application for leave to appeal.