State v. Hallmark

The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for first-degree premeditated murder but reversed Defendant's conviction for second-degree intentional murder, holding that the district court improperly entered a conviction on both first-degree and second-degree murder.Specifically, the Court held (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the recorded statement of an eyewitness under Minn. R. Evid. 807 even after the witness partially recanted the statement at trial; (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the evidence of the contents of a backpack linking Appellant to items that went missing with the murder weapon; (3) the district court erred by entering a conviction for both first-degree and second-degree murder because second-degree intentional murder is a lesser-included offense of first-degree premeditated murder; and (4) none of Appellant's pro se claims had merit. View "State v. Hallmark" on Justia Law