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STATE OF MICHIGAN COURT OF APPEALS

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v COLLEEN ELIZABETH SADOWS, Defendant-Appellee.

FOR PUBLICATION March 19, 2009 9:15 a.m. No. 286689 Wayne Circuit Court LC No. 08-005125

PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v JOHN JOSEPH GALE, Defendant-Appellee. Advance Sheets Version Before: Saad, C.J., and Bandstra and Hoekstra, JJ. PER CURIAM. The prosecution appeals by right the trial court's orders granting defendants' motions to quash the informations. Because MCL 257.625, as amended by 2006 PA 564, does not violate the prohibition against ex post facto laws, and because it does not deny defendants their rights to equal protection and due process, we reverse and remand for further proceedings. I In Docket No. 286689, defendant, Colleen Sadows, was charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI), MCL 257.625(1), a misdemeanor. Because Sadows was previously convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor (OUIL) in 1997 and No. 286693 Wayne Circuit Court LC No. 08-003887-FH

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2001, the prosecution sought to convict Sadows of a felony pursuant to MCL 257.625(9) or (11), as amended by 2006 PA 564, effective January 3, 2007.1 In Docket No. 286693, defendant John Gale was charged with OWI and, because he had previously been convicted of OUIL in 1994 and 2000, the prosecution also sought to convict him of a felony pursuant to MCL 257.625(9) or (11). Each defendant filed a motion to quash the respective information. The trial court granted the motions, concluding that MCL 257.625(9) and (11), as amended, were not merely sentencing enhancements because the subsections changed the charged offense from a misdemeanor to a felony and that the two subsections violated the constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws and the constitutional guarantee of equal protection.2 II The prosecution argues that the trial court erred by ruling that the application of MCL 257.625(9) and (11), as amended, violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of both the federal constitution and the state constitution, US Const, art I,

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