Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

Re: Negligent Homicide continued

Negligent Homicide is called a "high court misdemeanor" because it is a 2-year maximum crime, and crimes of MORE than 1 year go to circuit court (a high court), like all felonies. The legislature labeled it a 'misdemeanor', but it is handled procedurally like a felony.

It's still a misdemeanor in name. So if you're asked "have you ever been convicted of a felony?", you can say 'no, a misdemeanor'.

But (and isn't there always a 'but' right about here?) ... if you have a later felony conviction, when scoring the felony sentencing guidelines, the prior high court misdemeanor is considered a "low-severity felony" under the "prior record variables", by definition in the guidelines laws (see http://www.sado.org/guidelines.htm). Those laws define "felony" as: a violation of a penal law of this state for which the offender, upon conviction, may be punished by death or by imprisonment for more than one year, or an offense expressly designated by law to be a felony." Your conviction was for a crime for which you could have been imprisoned "for more than one year" so even though it is labled a misdemeanor, it is considered a felony for later felony sentencing guidelines scoring.

I won't give an opinion on whether your lawyer "should have informed you of this". That question should be addressed to an attorney who handles attorney grievances with the State Bar of Michigan, or with the Bar itself.