Opinion
SC 164596
10-05-2022
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. KOBI AUSTIN TAYLOR, Defendant-Appellant.
Wayne CC: 17-002247-FC
Bridget M. McCormack, Chief Justice Brian K. Zahra David F. Viviano Richard H. Bernstein Elizabeth T. Clement Megan K. Cavanagh Elizabeth M. Welch, Justices
ORDER
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the June 9, 2022 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REVERSE the judgment of the Court of Appeals affirming the defendant's 65- to 95-year sentences for second-degree murder, VACATE those sentences of the Wayne Circuit Court, and REMAND this case to the trial court for resentencing before a different judge. The trial court, for the third time, failed to address the extent of the 27 1/2-year upward departure sentences that were imposed in this case and explain why such a departure was warranted. People v Steanhouse, 500 Mich. 453, 476 (2017) (a sentencing court "abuse[s] its discretion in applying the principle of proportionality by failing to provide adequate reasons for the extent of the departure sentence imposed"), and People v Smith, 482 Mich. 292, 305-306 (2008) ("the trial judge gave no explanation for the extent of the departure independent of the reasons given to impose a departure sentence").
We do not retain jurisdiction.