On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the February 27, 2018 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered and, pursuant to MCR 7.305(H)(1), in lieu of granting leave to appeal, we REVERSE in part the judgment of the Court of Appeals. The Oakland Circuit Court abused its discretion by denying Foster's request for any extraordinary fees for time spent consulting with defense expert Gerald Gabriel. Although the defendant ultimately pled no contest and it is not clear how beneficial Gabriel's consultation was to the defense, it was outside the range of principled outcomes for the trial court to deny reimbursement altogether for time Foster spent consulting with Gabriel. As dissenting Judge Gleicher observed, "Foster was obligated to review more than 2,000 pages of financial data and the preliminary examination testimony given by the prosecution's expert," a record that is "outside the realm of most criminal prosecutions." And the trial judge granted the defense $ 12,500 specifically for the purpose of Foster being able to consult with Gabriel. We REMAND this case to the Oakland Circuit Court for further proceedings on extraordinary fees in light of this order. In all other respects, leave to appeal is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the remaining questions presented should be reviewed by this Court.
People v. Bernard (In re Foster), 923 N.W.2d 888 (2019)
March 20, 2019
·
Michigan Supreme Court
·
SC: 157509; COA: 334309
923 N.W.2d 888
IN RE Attorney Fees of Mitchell T. FOSTER
People of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
David John Bernard, Defendant,
and
Mitchell T. Foster, Appellant.
SC: 157509
COA: 334309
Supreme Court of Michigan.
March 20, 2019
Order