People V Smith Case Summary

The case People v. Smith was finally decided by the Supreme Court of Michigan in 1991. The case involved the defendant Ricky Franklin Smith whom pled guilty to breaking and entering and of being a habitual offender, fourth offense (People v Smith, 1991). The judge sentenced Smith to 6 to 30 years imprisonment for the Habitual Offender charge. Ricky Franklin Smith after sentencing requested to be resentenced because his juvenile record, which had been expunged, was considered by the judge for sentencing. The Michigan Court of Appeals agreed with the sentencing; however, when the case went to the Supreme Court of Michigan, they reversed the decision because the sentencing should not have been based on the defendant’s prior expunged juvenile record.
The two cases that assisted the Supreme Court in making their decision People v Price from 1988. This case was almost identical to the People v Smith case in which the defendant pled guilty to breaking and entering and larceny and was convicted (People v Price, 1988). However, the defendant asked for resentencing due to the fact his juvenile record should have been expunged and not been a factor in sentencing. The defendant was basing this information on the following Michigan ruling of MCR 5.925 (E):
The court may retain a child's juvenile court delinquency records other

Even though the crimes were committed as a juvenile, those records, once expunged, literally do not exist and should not be a determining factor. Just as Puechner (2014) stated individuals who have committed juvenile offenses are entitled to petition for an expungement of any adjudication records held by the district court. If the petitioner’s request is granted, that individual is entitled to have that record erased as if the event never