Be Careful What You Ask For...
Yesterday, the Michigan Court of Appeals decided that a retroactive application of the Michigan Supreme Court's decision in People v Lockeridge, 498 Mich 358; 870 NW2d 502 (2015), did not violate the ex post facto clauses of the state and federal constitutions, even though the defendant was sentenced to a lengthier term of incarceration when his case was remanded for resentencing. In People v Steven Aderrick Odom , Docket No. 339027, March 12, 2019 (Meter, PJ), the defendant had previously appealed his 210 to 420-month sentence for armed robbery, claiming that the trial court engaged in judicial fact-finding to increase the then mandatory sentencing guideline range. The Supreme Court ultimately agreed and ordered the defendant to be resentenced pursuant the reasoning followed in United States v Crosby , 397 F3d 103, 117-118 (CA 2, 2005). Back in the trial court, the judge determined that he had been constrained by the mandatory nature of the guidelines and would have