Opinion

Brown v. People

  • 39 Mich. 57
  • 1878 Mich. LEXIS 203
Court
Michigan Supreme Court
Filed
Jun 18, 1878
Status
Published
Author
Cooley
On the bench
Campbell, Cooley, Graves, Marston
Cited by
4 cases
Authority
More cited than 92.3%

The opinion

Cooley, J.

In Nelson v. The People, 38 Mich., 618 , disposed of at the last term, I expressed the opinion that where a party is convicted in a court of record of an offense for which he might have been tried in justice’s court, it was not competent for the court to impose upon him a sentence more severe than could have been imposed had he been tried in justice’s court. This case is one of that class; the offense being assault and battery, and the punishment for that offense, when imposed by a justice of the peace, being limited to three months.

The sentence imposed by the Recorder is of imprisonment for one year. By statute — Comp. L., § 7998 — a sentence merely excessive is to be reversed for the excess only, and this should therefore be affirmed as a sentence for three months only, and reversed as to the remainder.

Campbell, C. J., concurred.

Graves, J.

Whilst 1 am not clear that the view here taken is correct, I am not prepared to say it is wrong, .and therefore I concur.

Marston, J., concurred.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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