Ineffective assistance of counsel; Strickland v Washington; CSC I; MCL 750.520b(2)(b); CSC II; MCL 750.520c(2)(b); Assault with intent to commit sexual penetration; MCL 750.520g(1); Other-acts evidence; MRE 404(b); Other sex acts against minors; MCL 768.27a; Sexual assault propensity evidence; MCL 768.27b; MRE 403; Lay opinion testimony; MRE 701; Delayed disclosure; Expert testimony; MRE 702; Within-guidelines sentence; Proportionality; People v Posey

The court held that defendant-Morris failed to show ineffective assistance as to the admission of other-acts and delayed-disclosure testimony, and failed to overcome the presumption that his within-guidelines CSC I sentence was proportionate. Defendant was convicted of CSC I, assault with intent to commit sexual penetration, and CSC II for sexually abusing the victim when she was five years old, and the trial court sentenced him as a fourth-offense habitual offender. On appeal, the court first held that counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to testimony from another CSC victim because any objection would have been meritless. The court reasoned that the prior acts occurred “less than 10 years before the charged offenses,” involved sexual offenses against a minor, and were “plainly material” to intent, character, propensity, and whether the minor victim was telling the truth. The court next held that counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to the detective’s delayed-disclosure testimony because it was proper lay opinion based on 23 years of law-enforcement experience, and the detective “did not opine directly on the victim’s veracity.” Finally, the court held that defendant’s 37-year minimum sentence for CSC I was presumptively proportionate because it was within the guidelines range, and he offered no substantive argument to rebut that presumption. Affirmed.