People of Michigan v. Tyler Maurice Tate

Summary

The Michigan Supreme Court held that sentencing courts must treat youth as a mitigating factor when sentencing juveniles to terms of years under MCL 769.25 or MCL 769.25a, but need not explain on the record how youth affected the sentence. Because the record did not clearly establish that the sentencing courts treated youth as mitigating, the court vacated the sentencing portions of the Court of Appeals decisions and remanded for further review. The court did not decide that either 40-to-60-year sentence was unconstitutional or require a specific checklist of youth-related factors.