Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
July 2, 2008 Clifford W. Taylor,
Chief Justice
135851 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-Appellant, Justices
v SC: 135851
COA: 271870
Genesee CC: 04-013953-FH
BARBARA SUE WILLIAMS,
Defendant-Appellee.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the January 22, 2008
judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.302(G)(1), in
lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REVERSE the judgment of the Court of Appeals. In
People v Boyd, 174 Mich 321, 324 (1913), this Court discussed common-law obstruction
of justice, and stated as follows: “At common law, to dissuade or prevent, or to attempt
to dissuade or prevent, a witness from attending or testifying upon the trial of a cause is
an indictable offense.” Actual intimidation of the witness is not required; a defendant is
guilty of common-law obstruction of justice who uses an unlawful means to attempt to
intentionally dissuade a witness from testifying. See Boyd, 174 Mich 324-326; People v
Coleman, 350 Mich 268, 274 (1957); see also People v Davis, 408 Mich 255, 294 (1980)
(Levin, J.). In this case, the defendant knowingly violated a no-contact order when she
wrote to the victim, asking her to drop the embezzlement charges. In an attempt to
conceal her violation of the no-contact order, the defendant put a false return address on
the envelope. Based upon this evidence, a factfinder could properly convict the
defendant of common-law obstruction of justice. Accordingly, we REMAND this case to
the Genesee Circuit Court for reinstatement of the trial court’s order denying the
defendant’s motion to withdraw her guilty plea to common law obstruction of justice.
CAVANAGH and KELLY, JJ., would deny leave to appeal.
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.
July 2, 2008 _________________________________________
t0625 Clerk