People v. Anderson
| Decision Date | 16 March 2018 |
| Docket Number | No. 155172,155172 |
| Citation | 501 Mich. 175,912 N.W.2d 503 |
| Parties | PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Tremel ANDERSON, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
Bill Schuette, Attorney General, Aaron D. Lindstrom, Solicitor General, Kym L. Worthy, Prosecuting Attorney, Jason W. Williams, Chief of Research, Training, and Appeals, and Deborah K. Blair, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for the people.
State Appellate Defender (by Kristin LaVoy) for defendant.
Speaker Law Firm, PLLC (by Liisa R. Speaker ), amicus curiae, for the Michigan District Judges Association.
BEFORE THE ENTIRE BENCH
Stephen J. Markman, Chief Justice The issue in this case concerns the manner in which a magistrate may consider the credibility of witnesses’ testimony in determining whether to bind over a defendant. We hold that a magistrate’s duty at a preliminary examination is to consider all the evidence presented, including the credibility of witnesses’ testimony, and to determine on that basis whether there is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed a crime, i.e., whether the evidence presented is "sufficient to cause a person of ordinary prudence and caution to conscientiously entertain a reasonable belief of the accused’s guilt." People v. Yost , 468 Mich. 122, 126, 659 N.W.2d 604 (2003) (quotation marks and citation omitted). Because the magistrate in this case did not abuse her discretion in determining that the complainant’s testimony was not credible and there was no other evidence presented during the preliminary examination, we affirm the district court’s order dismissing the charges against defendant.
Defendant, Tremel Anderson, was charged with assault with intent to commit murder, MCL 750.83 ; carrying a concealed weapon, MCL 750.227 ; felonious assault, MCL 750.82 ; and carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b. At the preliminary examination, the complainant, Michael Larkins, testified as follows.
At approximately 11:30 p.m. on December 24, 2014, defendant was driving Larkins home when they got into an argument. Larkins and defendant had a newborn baby together, but they were not in a relationship. Defendant was angry because Larkins did not buy a swing for their infant son and because she believed that Larkins was in contact with his ex-girlfriend. During the argument, defendant threatened to kill Larkins, grabbed a gun from between her thighs, and pointed it at him. Defendant kept driving for five minutes with the gun pointed at Larkins but eventually pulled over to the side of the road approximately two blocks from Larkins’s home. For five to seven minutes, defendant and Larkins continued to argue while defendant kept the gun pointed at Larkins. Defendant then demanded that Larkins return a spare set of keys to her car, while the latter sought to negotiate a trade of the keys for Christmas gifts that were in defendant’s car. When Larkins refused to give defendant the keys, defendant called the police.1 Larkins believed that defendant called the police in order to create a diversion. While defendant was on the phone with the police, Larkins yelled for help. Defendant then attempted to fire the gun at Larkins, but the gun failed to discharge. Larkins jumped out of the car and ran away as defendant fired three more shots in his direction, but none of the shots hit Larkins. Finally, defendant threw Larkins’s belongings out of her car and drove away. Larkins reached a neighbor’s home and called the police.
Larkins’s testimony constituted the only evidence presented at the preliminary examination. The magistrate found this testimony not credible and therefore dismissed the complaint:
The magistrate also noted that, despite having allegedly been threatened by defendant in the past, Larkins never called the police and that he entered the car with defendant even though he did not have a functioning cell phone with him to seek help. The prosecutor appealed the magistrate’s decision in the circuit court, which treated the claim of appeal as a motion and denied it without further explanation,2 and the Court of Appeals affirmed in a split decision. People v. Anderson , unpublished per curiam opinion of the Court of Appeals, issued Nov. 29, 2016 (Docket No. 327905), 2016 WL 6992198.
This Court recently described the standard of review applicable to a magistrate’s determination as to whether to bind over a defendant:
In order to bind a defendant over for trial in the circuit court, the district court must find probable cause that the defendant committed a felony. This standard requires evidence of each element of the crime charged or evidence from which the elements may be inferred. Absent an abuse of discretion, a reviewing court should not disturb the district court’s bindover decision. An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court’s decision falls outside the range of principled outcomes. [ People v. Seewald , 499 Mich. 111, 116, 879 N.W.2d 237 (2016) (quotation marks and citations omitted).]
Questions of statutory interpretation are reviewed de novo. People v. Calloway , 500 Mich. 180, 184, 895 N.W.2d 165 (2017).
While "the Fourth Amendment requires a timely judicial determination of probable cause as a prerequisite to detention," Gerstein v. Pugh , 420 U.S. 103, 126, 95 S.Ct. 854, 43 L.Ed. 2d 54 (1975), a defendant has no constitutional right to an adversarial hearing to challenge the existence of probable cause, id . at 120, 95 S.Ct. 854. However, in Michigan, "[t]he state and the defendant" do have a statutory right "to a prompt examination and determination by the examining magistrate in all criminal causes ...." MCL 766.1. Therefore, the proper role of a magistrate during a preliminary examination constitutes a question of statutory interpretation, the resolution of which begins with an examination of the language of the statute. People v. Feeley , 499 Mich. 429, 435, 885 N.W.2d 223 (2016). When interpreting a statute, "[a]ll words and phrases shall be construed and understood according to the common and approved usage of the language; but technical words and phrases, and such as may have acquired a peculiar and appropriate meaning in the law, shall be construed and understood according to such peculiar and appropriate meaning." MCL 8.3a. "When the language of a statute is clear, it is presumed that the Legislature intended the meaning expressed therein." Epps v. 4 Quarters Restoration LLC , 498 Mich. 518, 529, 872 N.W.2d 412 (2015).
MCL 766.4(6) provides that "[a]t the preliminary examination, a magistrate shall examine the complainant and the witnesses in support of the prosecution, on oath ... concerning the offense charged and in regard to any other matters connected with the charge that the magistrate considers pertinent." The rules of evidence apply (with limited exceptions) to the proceeding, MCL 766.11b(1), and a defendant may cross-examine the prosecutor’s witnesses and present witnesses on his or her own behalf, MCL 766.12.
If the magistrate determines at the conclusion of the preliminary examination that a felony has not been committed or that there is not probable cause for charging the defendant with committing a felony, the magistrate shall either discharge the defendant or reduce the charge to an offense that is not a felony. If the magistrate determines at the conclusion of the preliminary examination that a felony has been committed and that there is probable cause for charging the defendant with committing a felony, the magistrate shall forthwith bind the defendant to appear within 14 days for arraignment before the circuit court of that county, or the magistrate may conduct the circuit court arraignment as provided by court rule. [ MCL 766.13 (emphasis added).]
Thus, a magistrate is required to "determine at the conclusion of the preliminary examination" whether there is "probable cause" that the defendant has committed a crime. "Probable cause requires a quantum of evidence sufficient to cause a person of ordinary prudence and caution to conscientiously entertain a reasonable belief of the accused’s guilt." Yost , 468 Mich. at 126, 659 N.W.2d 604 (quotation marks and citations omitted). The relevant definitions of "determine" are "to settle or decide by choice of alternatives or possibilities" and "to find out or come to a decision about by investigation, reasoning, or calculation[.]" Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.), defs. 1c and 4. The use of the word "determine" communicates that the magistrate must exercise some judgment in analyzing the evidence at the preliminary examination when deciding...
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