Summary
In People v. Smith, 402 Mich. 72; 259 N.W.2d 558 (1977), the Supreme Court held that this appeal as of right included a criminal defendant who pleaded guilty to criminal charges.
Summary of this case from People v. PerksOpinion
Docket No. 60236.
Decided November 28, 1977.
On application by defendant for leave to appeal the Supreme Court, in lieu of granting leave to appeal, reinstated the defendant's appeal and remanded to the Court of Appeals for further consideration.
Frank J. Kelley, Attorney General, Robert A. Derengoski, Solicitor General, William L. Cahalan, Prosecuting Attorney, Edward Reilly Wilson, Principal Attorney, Appeals, and Timothy A. Baughman, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for the people.
Carl Ziemba for defendant.
The majority of the Court of Appeals panel in this case and in People v Webb, 75 Mich. App. 494; 255 N.W.2d 661 (1977), believes that there is no appeal as a matter of right from a plea-based conviction. We disagree.
Const 1963, art 1, § 20, states in pertinent part: "In every criminal prosecution, the accused shall have * * * an appeal as a matter of right."
The appellate courts of this state have, until recently, consistently interpreted this language to guarantee an appeal as a matter of right from a plea-based conviction. Our review of those decisions, together with § 20's constitutional history and the plain meaning of its language, convinces us of the correctness of this interpretation.
See 1 Official Record, Constitutional Convention 1961, pp 469, 562-568.
Pursuant to GCR 1963, 853.2(4), in lieu of leave to appeal, the Court of Appeals order dismissing defendant's appeal for lack of jurisdiction is vacated. Defendant's appeal to the Court of Appeals is reinstated and the case is remanded to the Court of Appeals for consideration of the issue raised. We retain no jurisdiction.
KAVANAGH, C.J., and WILLIAMS, LEVIN, COLEMAN, FITZGERALD, RYAN, and BLAIR MOODY, JR., JJ., concurred.