Qiana D. Lillard

Previously admonished in People v Pennington and People v Smith, in People v. DeLeon, the Michigan Court of Appeals vacated sentences imposed by Judge Qiana Lillard and ordered resentencing before a different judge. Lillard imposed 65-to-80-year terms despite a minimum sentencing-guidelines range of 135 to 225 months, while incorrectly stating that the top of the range was 35 years. The appellate court also characterized her immigration-related remarks as “troubling,” while the prosecution conceded they were “inflammatory,” “unnecessary,” and “inappropriate.” Although the panel did not find that ethnicity or DeLeon’s choice to stand trial drove the sentence, it reassigned the case to preserve the appearance of judicial impartiality.