From Casetext: Smarter Legal Research

People v. Rapley

Supreme Court of Michigan
Jul 9, 2009
483 Mich. 1131 (Mich. 2009)

Opinion

No. 138779.

July 9, 2009.

Court of Appeals No. 281865.


Summary Disposition.

Pursuant to MCR 7.302(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we reverse in part the judgment of the Court of Appeals and reinstate the defendant's convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Where a defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, all reasonable inferences which can be drawn from the evidence must be resolved in favor of the prosecution. People v Nowack, 462 Mich 392 (2000). Even though the firearm was not in plain view in this case, the jury could reasonably have inferred that the defendant was in knowing possession of the firearm based on its proximity to a quantity of controlled substances that the defendant was intending to deliver, the defendant's proximity to both the weapon and the controlled substances, and the well-known relationship between drug dealing and the use of firearms as protection.

KELLY, C.J. I would deny leave to appeal.


Summaries of

People v. Rapley

Supreme Court of Michigan
Jul 9, 2009
483 Mich. 1131 (Mich. 2009)
Case details for

People v. Rapley

Case Details

Full title:PEOPLE v. RAPLEY

Court:Supreme Court of Michigan

Date published: Jul 9, 2009

Citations

483 Mich. 1131 (Mich. 2009)

Citing Cases

People v. Harris

Defendant argues that there was insufficient evidence that he possessed the firearm. We disagree. Analogous…

People v. Williams

As the Michigan Supreme Court has recognized, "the jury could reasonably have inferred that the defendant was…