Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
October 31, 2008 Clifford W. Taylor,
Chief Justice
136903 Michael F. Cavanagh
Elizabeth A. Weaver
Marilyn Kelly
Maura D. Corrigan
Robert P. Young, Jr.
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Stephen J. Markman,
Plaintiff-Appellee, Justices
v SC: 136903
COA: 285155
Calhoun CC: 07-001330-FH
JAMES WILLIAMS,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the May 27, 2008 order
of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded
that the question presented should be reviewed by this Court.
MARKMAN, J. (concurring).
I write separately only to reiterate the concerns expressed in my dissenting
statement in People v Wright, 474 Mich 1138 (2006). In Wright, I stated that parolees are
entitled to a determination “regarding how much, if any, additional time must be served
for the parole violation.” Id. at 1140. Currently, parolees receive no such determination
and remain in jail for an indeterminate length of time for their parole violation until they
are sentenced for the newly committed crime. The result is that similarly situated
parolees often receive an unequal amount of additional time on the basis of “the fortuity
of how long it takes the criminal justice system to proceed to a defendant’s final
sentencing.” Id.
Within the past two years, this Court has received at least 60 applications for leave
to appeal on this issue. Regardless of the eventual outcome in this Court, resolving this
issue would provide a significant benefit to the operations of our state’s legal system, and
would provide important guidance for parole violators, trial judges, and the Department
of Corrections. I believe it is long past time for the Court to conclusively resolve this
question.
2
CAVANAGH, J., joins the statement of MARKMAN, J.
KELLY, J., would grant leave to appeal for the reasons set forth in her dissenting
statement in People v Conway, 474 Mich 1140 (2006).
I, Corbin R. Davis, 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 31, 2008 _________________________________________
p1028 Clerk