Michigan Laws 780.825 – Notice of sentencing; impact statement; physical presence of defendant; remote option; 2018 PA 153 may be cited as “Rebekah Bletsch law”
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 780.825
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- Defendant: means a person charged with or convicted of having committed a serious misdemeanor against a victim. See Michigan Laws 780.811
- Person: means an individual, organization, partnership, corporation, or governmental entity. See Michigan Laws 780.811
- Presentence report: A report prepared by a court's probation officer, after a person has been convicted of an offense, summarizing for the court the background information needed to determine the appropriate sentence. Source: U.S. Courts
- Prosecuting attorney: means the prosecuting attorney for a county, an assistant prosecuting attorney for a county, the attorney general, the deputy attorney general, an assistant attorney general, a special prosecuting attorney, or, in connection with the prosecution of an ordinance violation, an attorney for the political subdivision that enacted the ordinance upon which the violation is based. See Michigan Laws 780.811
- Victim: means any of the following:
(i) An individual who suffers direct or threatened physical, financial, or emotional harm as a result of the commission of a serious misdemeanor, except as provided in subparagraph (ii), (iii), (iv), or (v). See Michigan Laws 780.811
(1) If no presentence report is prepared, the court shall notify the prosecuting attorney of the date and time of sentencing at least 10 days before the sentencing. The victim has the right to submit a written impact statement and has the right to appear and make an oral impact statement at the sentencing of the defendant. If the victim is physically or emotionally unable to make the oral impact statement, the victim may designate any other person 18 years of age or older who is neither the defendant nor incarcerated to make the statement on the victim’s behalf. The other person need not be an attorney. The victim may elect to remotely provide the oral impact statement under this section. The court shall consider the victim’s statement in imposing sentence on the defendant.
(2) Unless the court has determined, in its discretion, that the defendant is behaving in a disruptive manner or presents a threat to the safety of any individuals present in the courtroom, the defendant must be physically present in the courtroom at the time a victim makes an oral impact statement under subsection (1). In making its determination under this subsection, the court may consider any relevant statement provided by the victim regarding the defendant being physically present during that victim’s oral impact statement. This subsection applies to cases in which the sentencing of the defendant occurs after May 22, 2018.
(3) 2018 PA 153, which amended this section and section 15 and 43, may be cited as the “Rebekah Bletsch law”.