Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: mdop

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OFFENSES--Malicious Destruction of Property

Cross-References

OFFENSES--Arson

Authorities

CJI 32:1:01--32:3:02 [deleted in CJI2d]

MCL 750.377 et seq; MSA 28.609 et seq

MCL 750.377a; MSA 28.609(1) [personal property]:

CAUTION: This statute becomes effective 1-1-99 and has been extensively rewritten.

(1) A person who willfully and maliciously destroys or injures the personal property of another person is guilty of a crime as follows:

(a) If any of the following apply, the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 10 years or a fine of not more than $15,000.00 or 3 times the amount of the destruction or injury, whichever is greater, or both imprisonment and a fine:

(i) The amount of the destruction or injury is $20,000.00 or more.

(ii) The person violates subdivision (b)(i) and has 2 or more prior convictions for committing or attempting to commit an offense under this section. For purposes of

this subparagraph, however, a prior conviction does not include a conviction for a violation or attempted violation of subdivision (c)(ii) or (d).

(b) If any of the following apply, the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $10,000.00 or 3 times the amount of the destruction or injury, whichever is greater, or both imprisonment and a fine:

(i) The amount of the destruction or injury is $1,000.00 or more but less than $20,000.00.

(ii) The person violates subdivision (c) (i) and has 1 or more prior convictions for committing or attempting to commit an offense under this section. For purposes of this subparagraph, however, a prior conviction does not include a conviction for a violation or attempted violation of subdivision (c) (ii) or (d).

(c) If any of the following apply, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $2,000.00 or 3 times the amount of the destruction or injury, whichever is greater, or both imprisonment and a fine:

(i) The amount of the destruction or injury is $200.00 or more but less than $1,000.00.

(ii) The person violates subdivision (d) and has 1 or more prior convictions for committing or attempting to commit an offense under this section or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to this section.

(d) If the amount of the destruction or injury is less than $200.00, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $500.00 or 3 times the amount of the destruction or injury, whichever is greater, or both imprisonment and a fine.

(2) The amounts of destruction or injury in separate incidents pursuant to a scheme or course of conduct within any 12-month period may be aggregated in determining the total amount of the destruction or injury.

SANFORD A. SCHULMAN 1-800-529-7747

Re: mdop

You can easily get the text of ALL Michigan statutes from www.michiganlegislature.org.

Go to http://www.michiganlegislature.org/law/, and in the "MCL Quick Start" search box, type "malicious destruction" (using the quote marks), hit Enter, and click on the link to MCL 750.377a. You'll get the full text.

Michigan has several MDOP statutes. MCL 750.377a is more generalized re: "personal property", but there are also statutes specifically addressing destruction of buildings, crops/trees, police property, etc. Most of these contain several levels/tiers that distinguish misdemeanor versus felony malicious destruction cases. For example, UNDER $200 in damage is the lowest level of misdemeanor, Under $1,000 but $200 or more in damage is a higher misdemeanor, etc.