Summary of Opinion: People v. Lown, Docket No. 7361 (Mich. Ct. App. Jan. 25, 1971)

Factual and Procedural Background

Jack Eugene Lown was originally charged, together with another youth, with murder in the first degree arising out of the slaying of a man present at Club 31, a club which they intended to break and enter. Following testimony from the owner and an employee of Club 31 and the physician who treated the victim, defendant pled guilty to second-degree murder. The plea was accepted in the trial court in Grand Traverse (Judge Charles L. Brown). Defendant appealed his conviction entered on his plea of guilty. The Michigan Court of Appeals, Division 3 (Panel: HOLBROOK, P.J., McGREGOR and T.M. BURNS, JJ.), heard the appeal (submitted January 5, 1971) and decided it on January 25, 1971. The appeal was affirmed.

Counsel of record included Frank J. Kelley, Attorney General, Robert A. Derengoski, Solicitor General, John R. Blakeslee, Prosecuting Attorney, and Michael J. Houlian, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for the people, and Richard L. Benedict for defendant on appeal.

Legal Issues Presented

1. Whether the trial court's inquiry at the guilty-plea proceeding elicited a factual basis sufficient to support the conviction to which defendant pled (i.e., whether the plea colloquy established a substantial factual basis for the guilty plea).
2. Whether the preliminary examination transcript may be consulted to supply missing factual basis for acceptance of a guilty plea.

Arguments of the Parties

Defendant's Arguments

• Defendant maintained that the trial court's inquiry during the guilty-plea proceeding failed to elicit a factual basis sufficient to support his conviction for the crime to which he had tendered a plea.

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the people's specific arguments opposing defendant's claim in the appeal.

Table of Precedents Cited

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court began by acknowledging the defendant's contention that the plea proceeding did not elicit a sufficient factual basis to support the conviction to which he pled. Review of the plea transcript confirmed that the plea colloquy, standing alone, did not establish the necessary factual basis. The court then considered the remainder of the record and explained that the preliminary examination transcript, which contained testimony from witnesses (including the club's owner and employee and the treating physician), supplied the missing factual details. Citing People v. Bartlett and People v. Carlisle, the court stated the governing standard: a substantial basis for a guilty plea exists when the record shows that upon trial the defendant might well have been convicted. Relying on Bartlett and several subsequent cases permitting consultation of the preliminary-examination transcript (People v. Donald T. Moore; People v. Rufus Williams; People v. Hinton; People v. Medley), the court concluded that the entire record supported the view that, on trial, it would not have been improbable that defendant would have been convicted of first-degree murder. The court also observed that the accepted plea was a bargained plea that might reduce the period of incarceration for this youthful offender. On that basis, the court found a sufficient factual foundation in the combined record to uphold acceptance of the guilty plea and affirmed the conviction.

Holding and Implications

Holding: The judgment of the trial court was Affirmed.

Implications: The direct effect is that defendant's conviction on his plea of guilty to second-degree murder was upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals. The court relied on the combined plea transcript and preliminary examination transcript to find a substantial factual basis for the plea, and it noted that the plea was a bargained disposition that may reduce the defendant's period of imprisonment. The opinion does not announce or purport to establish a new rule of law beyond applying existing precedents permitting consultation of the preliminary-examination transcript to supply a factual basis for acceptance of a guilty plea.