Opinion
366483
10-26-2023
People of Michigan v. Russell Mark Davis
LC No. 19-003903-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 peremptorily reverse the trial court's grant of defendant's motion for plea withdrawal. Defendant's no-contest plea, which had already been accepted, could be withdrawn "only in the interest of justice ...." MCR6.310(B)(1). To demonstrate that withdrawing a plea is in the interest of justice, a defendant must "articulate a fair and just reason for withdrawing the plea." People v Wilhite, 240 Mich.App. 587, 594; 618 N.W.2d 386 (2000) (citation and quotation marks omitted). The reason cited by the circuit court in this case to allow defendant to withdraw his plea-that a different defendant in an unrelated case had been permitted, without objection from the prosecutor, to withdraw his plea-was not a "fair and just reason" to allow defendant to withdraw his plea. See People v Fonville, 291 Mich.App. 363, 378; 804 N.W.2d 878 (2011) (explaining that "Fair and just reasons include reasons like a claim of actual innocence or a valid defense to the charge").