Duty to advise a defendant of a lifetime monitoring requirement

On June 20, 2012 the Michigan Supreme Court, ADM File No. 2011-18, amended MCR 6.302 to Add a Duty to Advise a Defendant of a Lifetime Monitoring Requirement.

Rule 6.302 Pleas of Guilty and Nolo Contendere

(A) Plea Requirements. The court may not accept a plea of guilty or nolo contendere unless it is convinced that the plea is understanding, voluntary, and accurate.  Before accepting a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, the court must place the defendant or defendants under oath and personally carry out subrules (B)-(E).

(B) An Understanding Plea. Speaking directly to the defendant or defendants, the court must advise the defendant or defendants of the following and determine that each defendant understands:

(1) the name of the offense to which the defendant is pleading; the court is not obliged to explain the elements of the offense, or possible defenses;

(2) the maximum possible prison sentence for the offense and any mandatory minimum sentence required by law, including a requirement for mandatory lifetime electronic monitoring under MCL 750.520b or 750.520c ;

(3)-(5)[Unchanged.]

(C)-(F)[Unchanged.]

             

Staff Comment: This amendment codifies the holding of the recently released opinion in People v Cole, 491 Mich ___ (2012), in which this Court held that a trial court must advise a defendant who is subject to lifetime electronic monitoring requirement of that part of the sentence during the plea proceeding.