People v. Stovall
People v. Stovall
Opinion of the Court
The defendant’s motion for relief from judgment is prohibited by MCR 6.502(G). Court of Appeals No. 287160.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). In 1991, defendant shot and killed two victims. With respect to each killing, he pleaded guilty of second-degree murder. Both pleas involved a sentence agreement under which defendant would be sentenced to parolable life imprisonment.
At the plea hearing, his counsel stated, “I’ve advised [defendant] that the statute permits the Parole Board to consider him for [parole] at the end of ten years on this type of life sentence . . . .” Defendant later moved to withdraw his pleas, arguing that defense counsel had misled him concerning the likelihood that he could be paroled from his life sentences. The trial cotut denied the motion. The Court of Appeals affirmed, finding that defendant’s pleas were freely, voluntarily, and understandingly made. This Court denied defendant’s application for leave to appeal.
Defendant then filed two unsuccessful motions for relief from judgment. This is defendant’s third such motion. Although MCR 6.502(G)(1) states that a court must return without filing any successive motions for relief from judgment, MCR 6.502(G)(2) provides an exception to that rule when a retroactive change in the law has occurred.
Defendant argues that, because the Michigan Parole Board has established a policy that “life in prison means life in prison,” the trial judge and defense counsel operated under a misunderstanding of the law when he was sentenced. Thus, defendant claims that he is entitled to resentencing because he did not understand the consequences of his guilty plea. Furthermore, defendant claims that changes in the parole
Defendant relies on Foster Bey v Rubitschun,
This issue has been addressed by the Court of Appeals.
People v Stovall, 446 Mich 862 (1994).
US Const, art I, § 10, cl 1.
Foster Bey v Rubitschun, 2007 LEXIS 95748 (ED Mich, 2007).
See People v Hill, 267 Mich App 345 (2005).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.