Opinion
SC: 165589 COA: 365399
10-06-2023
PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Raphael Newell DICKENS, Defendant-Appellant.
Order
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the April 20, 2023 order of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the question presented should be reviewed by this Court.
Welch, J. (concurring).
I concur in this Court's order denying leave. Defendant argues that his dual convictions for carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony (felony-firearm), MCL 750.227b(1), and being a felon in possession of a firearm (felon-in-possession), MCL 750.224f(1), which arose out of a single act of possession of a gun, violate the Double Jeopardy Clauses of the United States and Michigan Constitutions. We declined to review this identical argument in People v Monroe , ––– Mich ––––, 992 N.W.2d 663 (2023). I maintain my position from my concurrence in Monroe that there is clear legislative intent to allow these cumulative punishments for the single act of possessing a firearm. See People v Wafer , 509 Mich. 31, 38, 983 N.W.2d 315 (2022). However, I continue to urge the Legislature to reconsider its harsh and ineffectual policy in allowing these cumulative punishments for one single act of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony and further consider the consequences that the criminal justice system has had to bear because of the mandatory two-year prison term that must be tacked onto a felon-in-possession conviction. Until such time, our hands are tied, and defendant's convictions must stand.