Opinion
SC: 161752 COA: 334692
02-02-2022
PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Kevin Robert SMITH, Defendant-Appellant.
Order
By order of March 30, 2021, the application for leave to appeal the March 19, 2020 judgment of the Court of Appeals was held in abeyance pending the decision in People v. Uribe . On order of the Court, the case having been decided on August 13, 2021, ––– Mich. ––––, 962 N.W.2d 644 (2021), the application is again considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.
We note, however, that the Court of Appeals majority erred when it stated that this Court's remand order "vacates our prior judgment, but not our prior opinion." This Court's orders do not differentiate between a Court of Appeals "judgment" and "opinion." See MCR 7.215(E)(1) ("When the Court of Appeals disposes of an original action or an appeal, whether taken as of right, by leave granted, or by order in lieu of leave being granted, its opinion or order is its judgment."). In any event, because the Court of Appeals majority opinion can be fairly read as reaffirming its rulings on all issues raised by the defendant on direct appeal, he has not been denied an appellate ruling on any issue as a result of the majority's misinterpretation of our remand order.