People v. Marshall

In People v. Marshall, 41 Mich. App. 66; 199 N.W.2d 521 (1972), the defendant, who had killed his wife in 1961, was found incompetent to stand trial. After being held in custody for nine years, defendant was eventually tried on a charge of first-degree murder. He was found guilty by a jury of the lesser included offense of manslaughter, and sentenced to 14 1/2 to 15 years in prison, with credit for the nine years held was held in custody before trial. Four months later, approximately one month before the defendant was to be discharged from prison, the prosecutor filed a supplemental information charging the defendant with being an habitual offender, second offense. Defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to serve 21 to 22 1/2 years in prison. There was no question that the prosecutor had knowledge of the defendant's prior felony conviction well in advance of his manslaughter conviction. 41 Mich. App. at 67-68. The Marshall Court held that a prosecutor has the discretion to file a supplemental information after conviction on the current charged offense even if the prosecutor had prior knowledge of the previous conviction.