PEOPLE OF MI V MARZENE CURLEY

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STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, UNPUBLISHED July 30, 1999 Plaintiff-Appellee, v No. 208797 Wayne Circuit Court Criminal Division LC No. 97-002157 MARZENE CURLEY, Defendant-Appellant. Before: Gribbs, P.J., and Smolenski and Gage, JJ. MEMORANDUM. Following a bench trial, defendant was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, MCL 750.321; MSA 28.553 and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, MCL 750.227b; MSA 28.424(2). He was sentenced to seven to fifteen years’ imprisonment for the manslaughter conviction and a consecutive two-year term for the felony-firearm conviction. He now appeals his manslaughter sentence as of right. We affirm. Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing a disproportionate sentence in the present case when defendant, a juvenile, had never been sentenced to a term of imprisonment. We disagree. The principle of proportionality requires sentences imposed by the trial court to be proportionate to the seriousness of the circumstances surrounding the offense and offender. People v Milbourn, 435 Mich 630, 636; 461 NW2d 1 (1990). Defendant’s manslaughter sentence is presumptively proportionate because it is within the range recommended by the sentencing guidelines. People v Broden, 428 Mich 343, 354-355; 408 NW2d 789 (1987); People v Dukes, 189 Mich App 262, 266; 471 NW2d 651 (1991). Defendant has not presented mitigating circumstances sufficient to override the presumptive proportionality of his sentence. Dukes, supra at 266. Because defendant’s sentence does not -1­ violate the principle of proportionality, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion. Affirmed. /s/ Roman S. Gribbs /s/ Michael R. Smolenski /s/ Hilda R. Gage -2­

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