People v. Claypool
Michigan Supreme Court
684 N.W.2d 278 (2004)
- Written by Paul Neel, JD
Facts
An undercover officer bought cocaine from Deon Claypool (defendant) three times in one week. On each occasion, the officer requested a greater amount and paid $500 over street value during the last transaction. Claypool was arrested and charged with selling 50 or more grams of cocaine. This charge carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. Under the statute, the trial court could reduce the mandatory minimum sentence by stating on the record a substantial and compelling reason that differs from the offense and offender factors the court used to determine the appropriate sentence within the statutory range. The trial court reduced Claypool’s sentence from the minimum 10–20 years to 8–20 years, finding that Claypool had been escalated. The state (plaintiff) appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Taylor, J.)
Dissent (Corrigan, C.J.)
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