PEOPLE OF MI V LISA MARIE HAVENS
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN,
FOR PUBLICATION
August 30, 2005
9:05 a.m.
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v
No. 252699
Macomb Circuit Court
LC No. 2002-000375-FH
LISA MARIE HAVENS,
Defendant-Appellant.
Official Reported Version
Before: O'Connell, P.J., and Schuette and Borrello, JJ.
O'CONNELL, P.J. (concurring).
I concur with the lead opinion, but write separately to address the dissent.
The dissent relies on an excerpt from the sentencing court's cryptic justification for
imposing a 15-year sentence when the sentencing guidelines dictated a minimum sentence range
of 19 to 38 months. Examined closely, this excerpt does not contain any articulation of an
objectively verifiable, substantial and compelling reason for the departure. Rather, the court
merely states, ipse dixit, that "the guidelines are totally in adequate [sic], because defendant was
dangerous and a serious threat to the community[,] . . . [e]specially . . . minors . . . ." The
sentencing court's classification of defendant as "dangerous" and a "serious threat" is not an
objective finding of any factual event, but a statement of personal opinion. Even though I share
this opinion, this "finding" does not satisfy the requirement that a court must base its sentencing
departure on objectively verifiable reasons and articulate them on the record. People v Babcock,
469 Mich 247, 257-259; 666 NW2d 231 (2003). Furthermore, the guidelines accounted for
defendant's relative age and influential role in the criminal activity. At best, the sentencing court
only suggests that it would find that "showing this minor how to use this drug" justifies a
departure. While I do not disagree, I have no way of knowing how much of the court's departure
was based on this offhandedly mentioned isolated reason, and how much of it was based on the
several other reasons we find invalid. We do not reverse defendant's convictions or decry her
sentences as unjust; we are merely sending the case back to give the sentencing court an
opportunity to provide the missing, but necessary, statement of objective and verifiable,
substantial and compelling reasons for departure.
I note that the prosecution, in its appellate brief, has stated substantial and compelling
reasons justifying the departure, but the sentencing court has not. Babcock and MCL 769.34(3)
construct an impenetrable legal wall around sentence departures that requires sentencing courts
to pass through an alloy gate of plain language and strict scrutiny. A court may only unlock this
-1-
gate with a key made of objective and verifiable metal forged in the fire of substantial and
compelling reasons and carefully crafted in an articulate statement on the record. The sentencing
court in this case relied solely on fiery emotion and the power of innate human sentiment,
without focusing any of that energy into a legally cognizable, factually based justification for
departing. Because the law requires more, I join the lead opinion.
/s/ Peter D. O'Connell
-2-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.