If a defendant was convicted after pleading guilty, he had the right to be heard on appeal. People v Smith, 402 Mich. 72; 259 N.W.2d 558 (1977). Likewise, he had a second appeal as of right in the event he was later found to have violated the terms of his probation.

Art 1, § 20, in its earlier form, thus provided defendants an appeal of right from all criminal convictions. Accordingly, this Court held in People v Smith, 402 Mich. 72; 259 N.W.2d 558 (1977), that defendants could appeal by right from plea-based convictions. Moreover, the Court of Appeals held that a defendant's right to appeal plea-based convictions included a corollary right to appointment of appellate counsel.

We disagree. At the time defendant committed the crimes at issue, and also at the time he entered his pleas, defendants who were convicted via plea were entitled to appeal their convictions as of right. People v Kaczmarek, 464 Mich 478, 481; 628 NW2d 484 (2001); People v Smith, 402 Mich 72; 259 NW2d 558 (1977). "However, those rules changed when, on November 8, 1994, voters approved Proposal B." Kaczmarek, 464 Mich at 482.

Defendant nonetheless has the burden of establishing entitlement to relief. Before 1994, criminal defendants in Michigan who were convicted based on their pleas of guilty or nolo contendere were entitled to appeal those convictions as of right. Const 1963, art. 1, § 20 Historical Notes; People v Smith, 402 Mich 72, 73; 259 NW2d 558 (1977). Section 20 of the Michigan Constitution also stated that such defendants were entitled, "as provided by law, when the trial court so orders, to have such reasonable assistance as may be necessary to perfect and prosecute an appeal."

In its earlier form, Article 1, § 20 of the Michigan Constitution provided that in every criminal prosecution, the accused shall have an appeal of right. 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. In accordance with its authority under Article 6, § 10, the Legislature enacted MCL 600.308 and MCL 600.309, which provided, in relevant part, that this Court had jurisdiction over all final judgments from the circuit courts, court of claims, and recorder's court, and that all appeals to this Court from all final judgments, orders, and decisions were as a matter of right. Early on, a question arose regarding whether a defendant had an appeal as of right from a judgment of sentence entered upon a trial court's finding that a defendant violated the terms of his or her probation, and the sentencing of the defendant to a term of imprisonment.

While our research has failed to find a case in which a defendant was informed of a right not contained in GCR 1963, 785.7, we do not feel reversal is required. In People v Smith, 402 Mich. 72, 73; 259 N.W.2d 558 (1977), the Supreme Court stated that a defendant did have a right to appeal a guilty plea conviction. By informing defendant of this right, the trial court was not misleading him. Furthermore, defendant was not prejudiced by the trial court's action.

In modern times, all Michigan criminal defendants enjoyed the right to appeal to the state's intermediate appellate court regardless of whether their convictions were based on guilty pleas or trials. See Mich. Const. art. 1, § 20 (1963); People v. Smith, 402 Mich. 72, 259 N.W.2d 558 (1977). Indigent defendants also enjoyed the right to the assistance of appointed counsel on appeal even in guilty-plea-based convictions, and the practice of appointing counsel in such cases was common.