Makowski v. Governor & Sec'y of State
| Decision Date | 03 June 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 146867,146867 |
| Parties | MATTHEW MAKOWSKI, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. GOVERNOR and SECRETARY OF STATE, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
Chief Justice:
Robert P. Young, Jr.
Justices:
Michael F. Cavanagh
Stephen J. Markman
Mary Beth Kelly
Brian K. Zahra
Bridget M. McCormack
David F. Viviano
This syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been
prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader.
MAKOWSKI v GOVERNOR
Matthew Makowski filed an action in the Court of Claims against the Governor and the Secretary of State, seeking a declaratory judgment and injunctive relief to reverse then Governor Jennifer Granholm's decision to revoke her commutation of plaintiff's nonparolable life sentence that had been imposed for his first-degree murder and armed robbery convictions. The Governor had signed the commutation on December 22, 2010, after which it was signed by the Secretary of State and affixed with the Great Seal; however, four days later, the Governor decided to revoke the commutation order, and all copies of the commutation certificate were destroyed. Plaintiff alleged that the commutation was final when it was signed, sealed, and delivered to the Department of Corrections, and argued that the Governor lacked the authority to revoke a completed commutation. The court, Richard D. Ball, J., granted defendants' motion for summary disposition, concluding that it lacked jurisdiction to review the governor's exercise of discretion over commutation decisions. Plaintiff appealed. The Court of Appeals, O'CONNELL, P.J., and CAVANAGH and DONOFRIO, JJ., affirmed, holding that the Governor's exercise of the commutation power presented a nonjusticiable political question. 299 Mich App 166 (2012). The Supreme Court granted plaintiff's application for leave to appeal. 494 Mich 876 (2013).
In an opinion by Justice CAVANAGH, joined by Chief Justice YOUNG and Justices MARKMAN, KELLY, AND VIVIANO, the Supreme Court held:
The interpretation and exercise of the Governor's powers under Const 1963, art 5, § 14 were justiciable questions properly before this Court. The Constitution did not give the Governor the power to revoke a validly granted commutation. A commutation is complete when it is signed by the Governor and the Secretary of State and affixed with the Great Seal. Because the Governor signed plaintiff's commutation and delivered it to the Secretary of State, where it was signed and affixed with the Great Seal, plaintiff was granted an irrevocable commutation of his sentence.
1. The case did not present a nonjusticiable political question. First, while the Constitution grants the Governor absolute discretion regarding whether to grant or deny a commutation, the Constitution also restricts the procedure of a commutation to that which is provided by law. Accordingly, the procedure of a commutation, including its finality, is not wholly committed by the text of the Constitution to the Governor. Second, resolution of the question presented did not demand that the Court move beyond areas of judicial expertisebecause the case rested on legal questions of constitutional interpretation and the vesting of rights, which are judicial in nature and did not involve determining whether the Governor had exercised sound judgment. Third, there were no prudential considerations that prevented the Court from resolving the issue, given that determining the extent of the Governor's powers was a matter of constitutional law rather than political discretion.
2. Reviewing the Governor's exercise of the commutation power to determine its constitutionality did not violate separation-of-powers principles because determining the extent of the Governor's powers was not an exercise of the whole power of commutation.
3. Plaintiff's sentence was commuted after the commutation had been signed by the Governor, signed by the Secretary of State, and affixed with the Great Seal because the Governor clearly intended to commute the sentence and the last act required of the executive had been completed.
4. The Constitution did not grant the Governor the power to revoke a commutation. The fact that Const 1963, art 5, § 14 specifically provides that the Governor may grant a commutation implies that the Governor's power is limited only to that ability, and to interpret this power as implicitly providing the power to revoke would not give the Constitution the sense most obvious to the common understanding because to revoke is the opposite of to grant. Further, the existence of the power to grant a conditional commutation implies that a commutation that is not expressly subject to conditions may not be revoked. Moreover, the Governor's attempt to revoke plaintiff's commutation impermissibly impinged on the powers of the parole board because once plaintiff's sentence was commuted, he was under the parole board's jurisdiction. Also, should the Governor have the power to revoke a commutation, it is not clear at what point that power would cease. The purpose sought to be accomplished by the pardon power did not counsel a different result.
Court of Appeals judgment reversed; Department of Corrections ordered to reinstate plaintiff's sentence as a parolable life sentence; plaintiff remanded to the jurisdiction of the parole board.
Justice ZAHRA, concurring, wrote separately because he would have adhered to the analysis in Marbury v Madison, 5 US (1 Cranch) 137 (1803), which stated that a power has been exercised when the last act required from the person possessing the power has been performed, to conclude that the commutation became final when the Governor signed it rather than when the ministerial duty of affixing the Great Seal was completed by the Secretary of State.
Justice MCCORMACK took no part in the decision because of her prior involvement in the case.
©2014 State of Michigan
Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
Chief Justice:
Robert P. Young, Jr.
Justices:
Michael F. Cavanagh
Stephen J. Markman
Mary Beth Kelly
Brian K. Zahra
Bridget M. McCormack
David F. Viviano
BEFORE THE ENTIRE BENCH
This case requires us to consider the extent to which the Governor's exercise of the pardon powers conferred by Const 1963, art 5, § 14 is justiciable; whether our review of the pardon powers offends the separation-of-powers doctrine; whether the commutation of plaintiff's sentence was complete; and whether Const 1963, art 5, § 14 grants the Governor the power to revoke a commutation. We hold that the extent of the Governor's pardon powers is a justiciable question and our review does not violate theseparation-of-powers doctrine. We also hold that the Michigan Constitution does not grant the Governor the power to revoke a valid commutation, and that plaintiff's commutation was valid and irrevocable when it was signed by the Governor and the Secretary of State and affixed with the Great Seal. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeals, order the Department of Corrections to reinstate plaintiff's sentence to a parolable life sentence, and remand plaintiff to the jurisdiction of the parole board.
In 1988, plaintiff was a manager at a Dearborn health club. Plaintiff gave cash to one of his employees to act as a courier and sent the courier to a bank to obtain a money order. Plaintiff then conspired with a second employee and that employee's roommate to have the roommate rob the courier en route to the bank. During the attempted robbery, the courier fought back and the roommate stabbed the courier, resulting in the courier's death. Plaintiff was charged with and convicted of first-degree felony murder and armed robbery and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Plaintiff was a model prisoner, receiving only two minor misconduct tickets while in prison. In January 2010, plaintiff filed an application for commutation. Plaintiff's application was considered by the parole board, which recommended that the case proceed to a public hearing. The parole board sent notice of the hearing to the Wayne County Prosecutor and to the successor Wayne County Circuit Judge. Notice was not sent to the victim's family because the family members failed to register as victims as required for notice under the Crime Victim's Rights Act. See MCL 780.769. A hearingwas scheduled for October 21, 2010, and the Michigan Department of Corrections posted public notice of the hearing on its website in early October. At the hearing, neither the prosecutor nor the victim's family appeared or opposed commutation. Following the hearing, the parole board sent the commutation application to then Governor Jennifer Granholm with a favorable recommendation.
On December 22, 2010, the Governor signed the commutation. The Governor's office sent the signed commutation to the Secretary of State, who affixed the Great Seal and autopenned the Secretary of State's signature to the commutation. At 1:52 p.m., the Governor's deputy legal counsel sent an e-mail to several state officials announcing that "[t]he Governor has approved the commutation request of [plaintiff]." Early December 23, 2010, the Governor's legal counsel received a call from a lawyer representing the victim's family, who expressed the family's opposition to the commutation and the family's unhappiness with the lack of notice.
On December 27, 2010, the Governor's deputy legal counsel delivered a letter from the Governor to the parole board chair officially directing the chair to halt all commutation proceedings and indicating that the Governor intended to revoke the commutation. The Governor's deputy legal counsel obtained and destroyed all copies of the certificate of commutation. On December 31, 2010, Governor Granholm left office and on January 1, 2011, newly elected Governor Rick Snyder assumed office. O...
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