On June 13, 2014, the Michigan Supreme Court issued an Order in the case of People of the State of Michigan v Randall Scott Overton, directing the Clerk of the Court to schedule oral argument on whether the Court should grant the defendant’s application or take other action. The Smith Blythe, PC represents Mr. Overton in this appeal.
Our office argued that the evidence in Mr. Overton’s case was insufficient to convict him of first degree criminal sexual conduct, among other things. The Court has limited the issue at this time to the sufficiency of the first degree criminal sexual conduct conviction. Mr. Overton was sentenced to the 25 year mandatory minimum after he was convicted after trial in 2011. Shortly after sentencing, Shannon Smith was retained to represent Mr. Overton in his appeal. The Court will now decide “whether the evidence was sufficient to show that the defendant engaged in the ‘intrusion, however slight, of any part of a person’s body or of any object into the genital or anal openings of another person’s body,’ MCL 750.520a(r), such that his conviction of first degree criminal sexual conduct under MCL 750.520b can be sustained.”
The Court’s Order can be found here.
Shannon Smith is looking forward to arguing on behalf of Mr. Overton to the Michigan Supreme Court this Fall.