1.6Offense Categories and Crime Classes
A.Offense Category (Crime Group)
All felony offenses to which the sentencing guidelines apply fall into one of six offense categories. The offense category, or “crime group,” to which an offense belongs determines which offense variables must be scored. See MCL 777.22. The six offense categories are defined in MCL 777.5(a)-(f) as:
•crimes against a person,
•crimes against property,
•crimes involving a controlled substance,
•crimes against public order,
•crimes against public trust, and
•crimes against public safety.
For further discussion of crime groups, see Section 2.12.
Within each “crime group,” all offenses to which the guidelines apply are further categorized by the seriousness of the offense.1 This gradation of offense seriousness is indicated by the offense’s “crime class.”2 An offense’s crime class determines which sentencing grid applies to the sentencing offense. MCL 777.21(1)(c).3 An offense’s crime class is designated by the letters A through H and M2 (second-degree murder). M2 and A represent the most serious felony offenses, while the letters B through H represent the remaining felony offenses in decreasing order of their seriousness.
An offense’s crime class roughly corresponds to the maximum term of imprisonment for offenses in the same class:4
•Class A — life
•Class B — 20 years of imprisonment
•Class C — 15 years of imprisonment
•Class D — 10 years of imprisonment
•Class E — 5 years of imprisonment
•Class F — 4 years of imprisonment
•Class G — 2 years of imprisonment
•Class H — Jail or other intermediate sanction
Although the actual statutory maximum term of imprisonment for a specific offense is generally consistent with the sentences specified in the bulleted list, there are some offenses that stray from this standard. For example, MCL 409.122(3) and MCL 750.145c(3)(a) are both “crimes against a person,” and both are designated as class D felonies. MCL 777.14b; MCL 777.16g. According to language found in legislative documents discussing the statutory guidelines,5 class D felonies are crimes for which a maximum sentence of 10 years of imprisonment may be appropriate. However, the maximum term of imprisonment authorized by MCL 750.145c(3)(a) is only seven years, while the maximum term authorized by MCL 409.122(3) is 20 years. While the crime class designation in most cases will correspond to the maximum sentences listed in the bulleted list above, the two offenses discussed here exemplify the directive of MCL 777.6: the express language of the statute defining the offense itself governs application of the sentencing guidelines.
There is no legislative authority for the division of felonies into crime classes; therefore, there is no prohibition against assigning a felony to a crime class that is inconsistent with the statutory maximum for that felony offense. Rather, the statutory maximum, as it is stated in the actual language of the statute, governs the upper limit of punishment possible for conviction of a particular offense. See MCL 777.6.
The sentencing guidelines apply to attempted crimes if the crime attempted is a felony offense. MCL 777.19(1). The guidelines do not apply to an attempt to commit a class H offense. Id.
An attempt to commit an offense falls within the same offense category or crime group as the offense itself. MCL 777.19(2). The crime class for an attempt is determined by the class of the offense attempted:
•if the attempted offense is in class A, B, C, or D, the attempt is a class E offense. MCL 777.19(3)(a).
•if the attempted offense is in class E, F, or G, the attempt is a class H offense. MCL 777.19(3)(b).
MCL 777.19 is a relevant consideration when the sentencing offense is an attempt. People v Jackson, 504 Mich 929, 930 (2019). “MCL 777.19 is also relevant to identify the offense classification of a prior attempt conviction for purposes of scoring [PRV 1 and PRV 2.]” Jackson, 504 Mich at 930.6 “MCL 777.19 does not ‘expressly designate[]’ the defendant’s attempt convictions to be felonies.” Jackson, 504 Mich at 930, quoting MCL 761.1(f) (defining felony) (alteration in original).7
1 See Part 6 of Chapter XVII of the Code of Criminal Procedure (providing sentencing grids with sentence ranges based on the applicable offense class).
2 See Part 2 of Chapter XVII of the Code of Criminal Procedure (setting out the offenses to which the sentencing guidelines apply and assigning each a crime class).
3 Sentencing grids are available by clicking here.
4 House Legislative Analysis, HB 5419, HB 5398, and SB 826 (Revised Second Analysis), September 23, 1998, 3.
5 See House Legislative Analysis, HB 5419, HB 5398, and SB 826 (Revised Second Analysis), September 23, 1998, 3.
6 PRV 1 is discussed in Section 2.5, and PRV 2 is discussed in Section 2.6.
7 Jackson was decided in the context of a challenge to the scoring of OV 13. For further discussion see Section 2.26.