Sentence in illegal immigrant case splits court

By Ed White Associated Press DETROIT (AP) -- A robbery case has exposed sharp differences at the Michigan Supreme Court over whether a sentence can be enhanced if the victims are illegal immigrants. Chief Justice Robert Young Jr. broke with the court's conservative bloc and joined three liberal justices in letting a minimum five-year prison sentence stand against Jorge Torres-David. A Wayne County judge added points to the sentencing formula in 2009 after finding that Torres-David targeted illegal immigrants because he believed they would be reluctant to complain to police. The Michigan appeals court denied an appeal, and the Supreme Court last week said it wouldn't hear the case. It was a 4-3 decision, with Young joining Democratic justices Marilyn Kelly, Diane Hathaway and Michael Cavanagh -- a rare alignment. "I believe undocumented aliens are vulnerable victims ... when offenders view them as easy targets because they fear contact with the police. It is for that reason that 15 points were properly assessed," Kelly said. The court's order didn't explain the impact that the scoring had on Torres-David's five-to-15-year prison sentence. A message seeking comment was left for his attorney Monday. In a dissent, Justice Stephen Markman said the "remarkable" decision means illegal immigrants in Michigan now have greater protections as crime victims than law-abiding residents. "I do not agree that illegal alien status somehow transforms those persons into 'vulnerable' victims, so that crimes committed against them are to be punished more severely than identical crimes against citizens and legal aliens," said Markman, whose remarks were endorsed by justices Mary Beth Kelly and Brian Zahra. "It is hardly a 'vulnerability' akin to a physical or mental disability, or analogous to youth or agedness," he wrote. F. Martin Tieber, a lawyer who specializes in criminal appeals, said the order is not the same as a formal precedent-setting opinion by the Supreme Court. "But the order could make it easier for prosecutors in cases where illegal immigrants are victims," he said. Published: Wed, Sep 21, 2011