People v. McAllister, 616 N.W.2d 203 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000)

Cases | People v. McAllister, 616 N.W.2d 203 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of assault with intent to commit murder. On appeal, the defendant claimed that he was denied due process of law at sentencing when the trial court refused to disclose letters addressed to the court by the victim and the victim’s family members. The appellate court disagreed. The trial court merely acknowledged that it had received letters from the victim and the victim's family regarding the effect that the injuries had on the victim, and noted that the information was relevant for purposes of scoring an offense variable addressing psychological injury to the victim. The content of the letter in dispute was disclosed, and was cumulative to evidence presentented at trial and to the victim’s oral statement at sentencing. The appellate court was confident that trial judges were able to separate evidence at trial from subjective requests of victims or their family members as stated in letters submitted to the court.