Opinion
SC: 161813 COA: 352329
03-30-2021
PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Derrick Stacy CHAPPEL, a/k/a Derrick Chapple, Defendant-Appellant.
Order
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the May 1, 2020 order of the Court of Appeals is considered. Pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REMAND this case to the Wayne Circuit Court for reconsideration of whether the defendant's 2019 motion for relief from judgment is a successive motion, as the circuit court states in the November 22, 2019 order denying relief from judgment, and for further proceedings as set forth in this order.
We first note that the circuit court record is in disarray and possibly incomplete. In support of its characterization of the motion for relief from judgment as a successive motion, the circuit court's November 22, 2019 order states that a motion for relief from judgment was denied on July 25, 2016, and a successive motion for relief from judgment was denied on November 10, 2016. It is unclear from the record what was denied on July 25, 2016. On November 10, 2016, the circuit court denied the defendant's motion for a new sentence, following this Court's May 24, 2016 order remanding this case to the circuit court to determine whether the court would have imposed a materially different sentence under the sentencing procedure described in People v. Lockridge , 498 Mich. 358, 870 N.W.2d 502 (2015). See People v. Chappel , 499 Mich. 924, 878 N.W.2d 848 (2016). The motion for a new sentence denied on November 10, 2016 was not a motion for relief from judgment.
On remand, the circuit court shall issue an opinion setting forth its analysis. If the circuit court determines that the defendant's motion for relief from judgment is not a successive motion, as appears to be the case based on the circuit court record provided to this Court, the circuit court shall consider the motion under MCR 6.504(B).
We do not retain jurisdiction.