by Michael B. Skinner · Monday May 4, 2009 4:16 pm PERMALINK
Trial courts are veterans at assessing costs at sentencing. However, they also shoot from the hip sometimes. MCL 771.3c sets a schedule for monthly payment of probation fees based on a defendant's income. In People v. Touchstone, Justice Markman dissented from an order denying leave to appeal because the trial court ordered the defendant to pay $10 a month when his income did not justify any monthly payment under the statute.Only Justice Kelly joined Justice Markman's dissent. Was the issue unpreserved? Did the other justices figure, "Eh, what's $10?" The violation seems clear as framed in the dissent. Maybe it's because the trial court can order a higher payment if it justifies the order, so the justices figured that schedule is not really really mandatory.
