Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Misdemenor

What was the "misdemeanor"? Michigan has some 2-year "high-court" misdemeanors that are labeled as misdemeanors but are treated in some instances like they were felonies.

Your husband should get a printout of his criminal history from the MSP web site's "I-CHAT" service (a $10 credit card charge for a criminal history). Go to www.michigan.gov/msp and click on the I-CHAT link on the left side. That'll show what his CCH "shows".

After that, go back to the court where the conviction was entered. Get a copy of the Judgment of Conviction from the court file. (There might be a nominal copying charge.) This is the court's official document stating what he was convicted if. Is the Judgment correct re: the exact crime for which he believes he was convicted (either being convicted as originally charged OR to a different, amended crime)???

There is a charging code in the Judgment (usually typed adjacent to the crime's title) called a PACC Code; this is very important because that number (e.g., 750.814 for the feony of Domestic Violence 3rd Offense) has to be accurate, otherwise the MSP computer information on the criminal history will list the wrong crime (e.g., 750.812 is the code for the misdemeanor of DV 1st Offense ... so one wrong number makes a big difference).

If there seems to be an error/discrepancy, you might be able to resolve it by talking to the prosecutor's office (which can check its file records re: the crime it shows he was supposed to have been convicted of) and if there's a correctable error, the PA might be able to help expedite it.

Otherwise, consult with an attorney about filing a motion to correct the judgment. The court rules allow corrections of errors like this. It might take some "file reconstruction", though ... such as getting a transcript of the guilty plea and/or sentencing to make double-sure that what he pled to is the crime that was entered in the Judgment.

If a change is made to the Judgment of Conviction, an amended "abstract" needs to be sent to MSP to correct the criinal history info in its computer.