Ineffective assistance of counsel; Plea-offer advice; Lafler v Cooper; Adequate explanation of plea; People v Corteway; Sentencing; Proportionality; People v Steanhouse; Within-guidelines presumption; People v Posey

The court held that defendant did not establish ineffective assistance of counsel in connection with his rejection of the trial court’s informal plea offer and that his within-guidelines sentence for manslaughter was not unreasonable or disproportionate. Defendant and the victim, who were coworkers, got into a drunken fight in a hotel parking lot, and the victim later died after defendant punched him in the face. Before trial, the trial court floated an off-the-record one-year imprisonment offer if defendant pled guilty, but he rejected it and proceeded to trial on a self-defense theory. After his conviction, defendant sought a new trial and a Ginther hearing, claiming that counsel failed to adequately explain the offer, self-defense law, trial risks, and the likely guidelines range. On appeal, the court held that the offer was not a true Cobbs offer because it was not made on the record by the prosecutor. It also held that counsel conveyed the offer and did not perform deficiently. The court deferred to the trial court’s credibility findings at the Ginther hearing, where counsel testified that he explained self-defense, the guidelines, and repeatedly asked whether defendant wanted to go to trial, while defendant testified otherwise. The court next held that defendant failed to overcome the presumption that his within-guidelines sentence was proportionate. It explained that the trial court was aware of his lack of criminal history, remorse, and efforts to aid the victim, but reasonably concluded that those mitigating facts did not outweigh that he was the aggressor and caused the victim’s death. Affirmed.