Opinion
SC: 161826 COA: 345048
12-09-2022
PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Desean Maurice SMITH, Defendant-Appellant.
Order
By order of March 16, 2022, the application for leave to appeal the June 18, 2020 judgment of the Court of Appeals was held in abeyance pending the decisions in People v Parks (Docket No. 162086) and People v Poole (Docket No. 161529). On order of the Court, Parks having been decided on July 28, 2022, 510 Mich ––––, –––– N.W.2d. ––––, 2022 WL 3008548 (2022), and Poole having been decided on July 28, 2022, 510 Mich ––––, 977 N.W.2d 530 (2022), the application is again considered. Pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REVERSE in part the judgment of the Court of Appeals, VACATE the sentence of the Oakland Circuit Court, and REMAND this case to that court for resentencing. The defendant's mandatory sentence of life without parole for first-degree murder, committed when he was 18 years old, is cruel or unusual punishment in violation of Const. 1963, art. 1, § 16. Parks , supra. In all other respects, leave to appeal is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the remaining questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.
Viviano, J. (concurring in part and dissenting in part).
For the reasons stated in Chief Justice CLEMENT ’s dissent in People v Parks , 510 Mich ––––, –––– N.W.2d. ––––, 2022 WL 3008548 (2022) (Docket No. 162086), I do not believe that a mandatory sentence of life without parole for a defendant who committed first-degree murder when he was 18 years old is unconstitutional. Therefore, I would deny leave to appeal on all of the issues raised by defendant.