Judges can’t punish defendants who choose to go to trial. That’s the opinion of the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Judge Qiana Lillard from Wayne County had been admonished by the Court of Appeals in the past for her practice of sentencing defendants who go to trial at the top of their sentence range. But that time it wasn’t binding.
Now, in another old case of hers, the court has made its position clear – a defendant has a right to an individualized sentence.
In the past, Judge Lillard said her practice didn’t punish defendants for going to trial – rather it rewarded them for pleading guilty.
The court wasn’t buying it.
It said the practice violates the defendant’s due process rights.