If you are charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct 2nd Degree (CSC 2nd) in Livonia, Michigan, you need the help of an experienced Livonia criminal defense attorney. I can provide you with nearly 20 years of experience and a willingness to fight and take cases to trial.
Criminal Sexual Conduct, 2nd Degree is a class C felony that carries up to 15 years in prison (180 months). If you are arrested and charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct 2nd Degree (CSC 2nd), your first court appearance will be an arraignment in the 16th District Court in Livonia, Michigan. Learn more about an arraignment now. At the arraignment, your case will be scheduled for a probable cause conference and a preliminary examination. Bond will also be addressed at the arraignment. The probable cause conference must be scheduled within 7 to 14 days of the arraignment with the preliminary examination scheduled within 5 to 7 days after the probable cause conference.
Following the preliminary examination, further proceedings are held in the Wayne County Circuit Court at the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in downtown Detroit. If there is virtually any evidence supporting the prosecutor's case, it is extremely likely that the matter will be bound over in the district court. Nonetheless, I almost always challenge cases at the preliminary examination because it is the best opportunity that the defense is presented for challenging the evidence and developing the facts that will support defenses in the circuit court. DO NOT WAIVE THE PRELIMINARY EXAMINATION WITHOUT MAKING AN INFORMED DECISION.
The charge of Criminal Sexual Conduct 2nd Degree (CSC 2nd) is detailed in the Michigan compiled laws, MCL 750.520c. The provisions of MCL 750.520c state:
(1) A person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree if the person engages in sexual contact with another person and if any of the following circumstances exists:
(a) That other person is under 13 years of age.
(b) That other person is at least 13 but less than 16 years of age and any of the following:
(i) The actor is a member of the same household as the victim.
(ii) The actor is related by blood or affinity to the fourth degree to the victim.
(iii) The actor is in a position of authority over the victim and the actor used this authority to coerce the victim to submit.
(iv) The actor is a teacher, substitute teacher, or administrator of the public school, nonpublic school, school district, or intermediate school district in which that other person is enrolled.
(v) The actor is an employee or a contractual service provider of the public school, nonpublic school, school district, or intermediate school district in which that other person is enrolled, or is a volunteer who is not a student in any public school or nonpublic school, or is an employee of this state or of a local unit of government of this state or of the United States assigned to provide any service to that public school, nonpublic school, school district, or intermediate school district, and the actor uses his or her employee, contractual, or volunteer status to gain access to, or to establish a relationship with, that other person.
(vi) The actor is an employee, contractual service provider, or volunteer of a child care organization, or a person licensed to operate a foster family home or a foster family group home in which that other person is a resident and the sexual contact occurs during the period of that other person's residency. As used in this subdivision, child care organization, foster family home, and foster family group home mean those terms as defined in section 1 of 1973 PA 116, MCL 722.111.
(c) Sexual contact occurs under circumstances involving the commission of any other felony.
(d) The actor is aided or abetted by 1 or more other persons and either of the following circumstances exists:
(i) The actor knows or has reason to know that the victim is mentally incapable, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless.
(ii) The actor uses force or coercion to accomplish the sexual contact. Force or coercion includes, but is not limited to, any of the circumstances listed in section 520b(1)(f).
(e) The actor is armed with a weapon, or any article used or fashioned in a manner to lead a person to reasonably believe it to be a weapon.
(f) The actor causes personal injury to the victim and force or coercion is used to accomplish the sexual contact. Force or coercion includes, but is not limited to, any of the circumstances listed in section 520b(1)(f).
(g) The actor causes personal injury to the victim and the actor knows or has reason to know that the victim is mentally incapable, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless.
(h) That other person is mentally incapable, mentally disabled, mentally incapacitated, or physically helpless, and any of the following:
(i) The actor is related to the victim by blood or affinity to the fourth degree.
(ii) The actor is in a position of authority over the victim and used this authority to coerce the victim to submit.
(i) That other person is under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections and the actor is an employee or a contractual employee of, or a volunteer with, the department of corrections who knows that the other person is under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections.
(j) That other person is under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections and the actor is an employee or a contractual employee of, or a volunteer with, a private vendor that operates a youth correctional facility under section 20g of the corrections code of 1953, 1953 PA 232, MCL 791.220g, who knows that the other person is under the jurisdiction of the department of corrections.
(k) That other person is a prisoner or probationer under the jurisdiction of a county for purposes of imprisonment or a work program or other probationary program and the actor is an employee or a contractual employee of or a volunteer with the county or the department of corrections who knows that the other person is under the county's jurisdiction.
(l) The actor knows or has reason to know that a court has detained the victim in a facility while the victim is awaiting a trial or hearing, or committed the victim to a facility as a result of the victim having been found responsible for committing an act that would be a crime if committed by an adult, and the actor is an employee or contractual employee of, or a volunteer with, the facility in which the victim is detained or to which the victim was committed.
(2) Criminal sexual conduct in the second degree is a felony punishable as follows:
(a) By imprisonment for not more than 15 years.
(b) In addition to the penalty specified in subdivision (a), the court shall sentence the defendant to lifetime electronic monitoring under section 520n if the violation involved sexual contact committed by an individual 17 years of age or older against an individual less than 13 years of age.
Criminal Sexual Conduct 2nd Degree (CSC 2nd) under Michigan sentencing guidelines is scored under crimes against a person (Person). Under the guidelines, a person who is convicted of Criminal Sexual Conduct, 2nd Degree with no prior record and no aggravating factors looks to the low end of the guidelines which call for up to 11 months. With no prior criminal record but horrible facts, the defendant can face 57 months. With a terrible criminal record and terrible facts, the accused can be looking at 114 months under the guidelines.
The jury instructions set forth the following elements for Criminal Sexual Conduct, 2nd Degree that must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt by the prosecuting attorney:
M Crim JI 20.2 Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Second Degree
(1) The defendant is charged with the crime of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. To prove this charge, the prosecutor must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
(2) First, that the defendant intentionally [touched (name complainant)'s / made (name complainant) touch (his / her) / permitted (name complainant) to touch (his / her)] [genital area / groin / inner thigh / buttock / (or) breast] or the clothing covering that area.
(3) Second, that this was done for sexual purposes or could reasonably be construed as having been done for sexual purposes.
(4) [Follow this instruction with one or more of the 13 alternatives, M Crim JI 20.3 to M Crim JI 20.11d, as warranted by the evidence. See the table of contents on p. 20-1 for a list of the alternatives.]
I can't emphasize enough how important it is to focus on the jury instructions while preparing a defense to the offense of Criminal Sexual Conduct 2nd Degree (CSC 2nd). While there are a number of defenses to Criminal Sexual Conduct, 2nd Degree that we can explore during a consultation, the elements contained in M Crim JI 20.2 provide a roadmap for defending the case. This is true in almost every single case, and really great defense attorneys focus early on these jury instructions.
As a cautionary note, you might be completely innocent but still face criminal charges. Even worse, you might be denied bail, forced to spend months in jail before you are vindicated. I have seen many cases where a truly innocent client is baffled, angry and scared, completely unable to understand why police and prosecutors are gunning to get a conviction. So long as probable cause is established at the preliminary examination, then the matter will be bound over for trial in the 3rd Circuit Court for the County of Wayne and further proceedings will be held in the Frank Murphy Hall of Justice in downtown Detroit. This is why it is so important that you contact an experienced Livonia criminal defense attorney to help you defend against criminal charges in the 16th District Court.
*represents an aberration under the guidelines that might result in county jail time or violate the 2/3rd maximum minimum rules under the guidelines, which is something that must be discussed with your attorney.