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STATE OF MICHIGAN
COURT OF APPEALS


PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Plaintiff-Appellee, v STEPHEN HAROLD CLINE, Defendant-Appellant.

FOR PUBLICATION September 18, 2007 9:00 a.m. No. 268604 Huron Circuit Court LC No. 05-004450-FC Official Reported Version

Before: Davis, P.J., and Schuette and Borrello, JJ. SCHUETTE, J. Defendant appeals as of right his December 22, 2005, jury conviction of one count of kidnapping, MCL 750.349, and 17 counts of first-degree vulnerable-adult abuse, MCL 750.145n(1). Defendant was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 25 to 40 years for kidnapping and 10 to 15 years on each count of first-degree vulnerable-adult abuse. Defendant received 241 days' credit for time served in jail. We affirm. I. FACTS This case arises out of defendant's abuse of his wife, Linda Cline, who is completely blind and is a brittle, type I diabetic.1 Linda and defendant first met in January 2001 at the Commission for the Blind training school in Kalamazoo, Michigan.2 They started a romantic relationship at the end of January 2001, and they married on September 21, 2002. After being hospitalized in April 2005, Linda had trouble speaking. She wondered if she had been deprived of oxygen or had suffered a stroke. Shortly thereafter, while cleaning her and defendant's apartment, Linda discovered ropes and a digital camera, which, after asking a friend

Type I diabetes mellitus is an insulin-dependent form of the disease. Stedman's Medical Dictionary (26th ed, 1995), p 473. Brittle diabetes mellitus is characterized by "marked fluctuations in blood glucose concentrations that are difficult to control." Id. at 472. Defendant is legally blind because he has problems with peripheral and night vision, but he can still read and drive a car.
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to examine it, she learned contained photos of her hogtied, nude, and lying face down.3 Linda also discovered three videotapes, one of which depicted several incidences of her being tied up or bound, either naked or scantily clad, with a bag over her head, struggling to breathe. Defendant appeared in some of the scenes. Linda did not recall making the videotape, and she did not consent to it. During a police interview, defendant stated that, except for one occasion, these activities were consensual and that he was sexually aroused by them. II. EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL Defendant first argues that he was deprived of his right to the effective assistance of counsel when defense counsel failed to move for a change of venue in this case. We disagree. A. Standard of Review The determination whether a defendant has been deprived of the effective assistance of counsel presents a mixed question of fact and constitutional law. People v LeBlanc, 465 Mich 575, 579; 640 NW2d 246 (2002). The court must first determine the facts and then decide whether those facts constitute a violation of the constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel. Id. The trial court's factual findings are reviewed for clear error, while its constitutional determinations are reviewed de novo. Id. B. Analysis An accused's right to counsel encompasses the right to the "effective" assistance of counsel. US Const Am VI; Const 1963, art 1

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