People of Michigan v. Troy Michael Guzikowski ( 2017 )

Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
October 6, 2017 Stephen J. Markman,
Chief Justice
152028 Brian K. Zahra
Bridget M. McCormack
David F. Viviano
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Richard H. Bernstein
Plaintiff-Appellee, Joan L. Larsen
Kurtis T. Wilder,
Justices
v SC: 152028
COA: 324584
Mecosta CC: 07-006086-FC
TROY MICHAEL GUZIKOWSKI,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
By order of September 27, 2016, the application for leave to appeal the April 14,
2015 order of the Court of Appeals was held in abeyance pending the decision in People
v Comer (Docket No. 152713). On order of the Court, the case having been decided on
June 23, 2017, 500 Mich ___ (2017), the application is again considered. Pursuant to
MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we VACATE the June 27, 2014
amended judgment of sentence of the Mecosta Circuit Court, and we REMAND this case
to the trial court for reinstatement of the August 27, 2007 judgment of sentence. In
Comer, we held that correcting an invalid sentence by adding a statutorily mandated term
is a substantive correction that a trial court may make on its own initiative only before
judgment is entered. In this case, the trial court did not have authority to amend the
judgment of sentence after entry to add a provision for lifetime electronic monitoring
under MCL 750.520b(2)(d) and MCL 750.520n.
We do not retain jurisdiction.
ZAHRA, J., states as follows:
Consistently with my opinion in People v Comer, 500 Mich ____ (2017) (Docket
No. 152713) (ZAHRA J., concurring in part and dissenting in part), I disagree with the
majority’s chosen remedy to reinstate the very sentence it properly concluded was
invalid. Instead of reinstating an invalid sentence that is predicated on an invalid plea, I
would conclude that the appropriate remedy in this case is to “give the defendant the
opportunity to elect to allow the plea and sentence to stand or to withdraw the plea.”
MCR 6.310(C); cf. People v Cobbs, 443 Mich 276 (1993).
I, Larry S. Royster, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
October 6, 2017
s1003
Clerk