People v. Mazzie

While we agree with Justice Boyle that the presumption of vindictiveness as applied in People v Payne, 386 Mich 84; 191 NW2d 375 (1971), goes beyond the protections necessary to sustain a defendant’s due process rights, we cannot agree with the degree to which Justice Boyle would narrow that protection.

Under our present framework of indeterminate sentencing, sentences are based more on an assessment of the offender than the offense. A natural and unavoidable result of this sentencing scheme, leaving as it does wide discretion to the trial judge, is that the length of a defendant’s sentence…