People v. Butler
| Decision Date | 01 March 1994 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 133727,No. 95820-22,134559 and 137727,95820-22,s. 133727 |
| Citation | 444 Mich. 965,512 N.W.2d 583 |
| Parties | PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Lawrence BUTLER, Defendant-Appellee, and Duane Sturges, Defendant-Appellee/Cross-Appellant. COA |
| Court | Michigan Supreme Court |
I do not agree with reversal based upon the majority's conclusion that the defendants were not entrapped as a matter of law.
This case presents a "virtue testing" scheme. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms did not target anyone in particular when conducting this investigation. It did not suspect or have knowledge of the defendants' participation in criminal activity. The bureau participated in a "fishing expedition," hoping to reel in the prize fish. While an argument can be advanced that the bureau exerted no pressure when it announced its sale items and beeper number, the position is quickly weakened when the agent's actual conduct is considered. On the basis of the facts, it cannot be concluded that the Court of Appeals clearly erred when it held that the government entrapped the defendants. Accordingly, I would affirm the holding of the Court of Appeals.
LEVIN, J., concurs in the statement of MICHAEL F. CAVANAGH, C.J.
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