People of Michigan v. Tyler Maurice Tate

Summary

The Court held that sentencing courts must treat a juvenile offender’s youth and attendant circumstances as a mitigating factor when imposing a term-of-years sentence under MCL 769.25 or MCL 769.25a. The court need not make specific on-the-record findings explaining how youth affected the sentence, but the sentence must remain proportionate and adequately justified for appellate review. Because it was unclear whether the sentencing courts properly treated youth as mitigating, the Court vacated the sentencing portions of the Court of Appeals decisions and remanded for further review.