PEOPLE OF MI V KENNETH KARL WILLIAMS

Court of Appeals, State of Michigan
ORDER
PEOPLE OF MI V KENNETH KARL WILLIAMS
Docket No. 377861
LC No. 93-002575-01-FC
Allie Greenleaf Maldonado
Presiding Judge
Matthew S. Ackerman
Christopher M. Trebilcock
Judges
The motion to waive fees is GRANTED for this case only.
The delayed application for leave to appeal is DENIED for lack of merit in the grounds
presented because the trial court reached the correct ultimate result, albeit for the wrong reason. Given
the procedural stance of this case, subchapter 6.500 of the Michigan Court Rules represented the only
proper procedural avenue for defendant to raise a challenge like the one at bar—i.e., a challenge
concerning his judgment of sentence. See MCR 6.501. As this would not have been defendant’s first
6.500 motion, the trial court had discretion to (1) recharacterize the disputed motions as 6.500 motions,
then rule on them as such; (2) reject the motions and return them to defendant for failing to “substantially
comply” with the applicable court rules; or (3) deny the motions for lack of merit in the grounds presented.
See MCR 6.502(D); People v Barner, 500 Mich 1057 (2017). While the trial court did not elect to take
either of the first two approaches, a collateral motion seeking 6.500-style relief, but styled as something
else, should be denied for lack of merit in the grounds presented. See, e.g., People v Giuchici, 503 Mich
884 (2018); People v Young, 503 Mich 859 (2018); People v Humphries, 501 Mich 1043 (2018). The trial
court, therefore, reached the correct result and this application lacks merit.
_______________________________
Presiding Judge

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