Opinion
Docket No. 149502. COA No. 314375.
10-22-2014
PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Joseph William MILLER, Defendant–Appellee.
Order
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the March 11, 2014 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is GRANTED. The parties shall include among the issues to be briefed whether the state and federal Double Jeopardy Clauses, U.S. Const., Am. V, and Const. 1963, art. 1, § 15, prohibit punishment for both the compound offense of Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) causing serious injury, MCL 257.625(5), and its predicate offense of OWI, MCL 257.625(1) and (9)(a), where both the compound and predicate offenses have alternative elements. Compare People v. Ream, 481 Mich. 223, 750 N.W.2d 536 (2008), with United States v. Dixon, 509 U.S. 688, 113 S.Ct. 2849, 125 L.Ed.2d 556 (1993), and People v. Wilder, 485 Mich. 35, 780 N.W.2d 265 (2010). The parties shall also include among the issues to be briefed: (1) whether the existence of prior convictions under MCL 257.625(9)(c) amounts to an element of OWI causing serious injury for purposes of the state and federal Double Jeopardy Clauses and, accordingly, (2) whether punishment for both third-offense OWI, MCL 257.625(9)(c), and OWI causing serious injury amounts to impermissible multiple punishment under the Double Jeopardy Clauses, or whether each offense has an element that the other does not.
The Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan and the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan are invited to file briefs amicus curiae. Other persons or groups interested in the determination of the issues presented in this case may move the Court for permission to file briefs amicus curiae.